


Privilege

by Miraal



Series: Privilege [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Betrayal, Character Death, Dark, Emotional Manipulation, Funerals, Heartbreak, Kidnapping, Loyalty, Mental break downs, Mind Games, Multi, Paris - Freeform, Prince!Zayn, Recreational Drug Use, Secrets everywhere, Stalking, Tears, Trust, crazy rich kids, credit to author KATE BRIAN, drama all the time, everyone is pretty messed up, exclusive parties, friendships, glam and lux, go read her books, hate/love relationships, if you like this even a little, lots of blackmailing, no one is who they say they are, occasional trips to NY, passionate love, politicians'son!liam, poor! niall, popstar! harry, powerful!louis, psycothic teens, questionable morals, scholarship! niall, set in Washington DC, skelets in the closets, soap opera really, sub-cons, super elite boarding school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-01
Updated: 2014-02-26
Packaged: 2018-01-07 01:13:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 147,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1113756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miraal/pseuds/Miraal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall wins a scholarship to one of the most prestigious boarding schools of the country. He is ready to build up his future and live his dreams, but it doesn’t take long for him to get involved with a troublesome group of untouchable and elite boys.</p><p> </p><p>The one where Niall is the poor scholarship student who enters an elite boarding school, Louis is untouchable and holds the whole school in the palm of his hand, Harry is an international pop star, Zayn is a real-life prince and Liam is a son of politicians.</p><p> </p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This started off as a rewrite of _privilege_ and _private_ by Kate Brian, because I adore those books and I wanted to have fun, playing around with it and turning it into a 1D fanfic instead. Pairings and romance are entirely from my own fucked up mind, those, I take credit for. This doesn't follow the book and is more explicit (cough*smut*cough) and will turn even darker than the orignal series. First arc is based on most part off the books with my own spins and turns and twists to it. (basically, I adjusted to the 1D boys). First arc is told from Niall's pov of view and we don't get into the other boy's head at all.  
>  Second Arc, this will mostly be from my own imagination and creativity, of course inspired by Kate Brian, and will once again be told from Niall's limited point of view.  
> Third Arc, This will be set a couple of years after the second arc and will be told through Louis' point of view. It will be much darker, twisted and absurd than Niall's pov; just so you're warned. (I can't wait to get into Louis' head - that came out the wrong way)
> 
> ...
> 
>  
> 
> Oh, and I feel like I need to say this, I only post stories and write them for a creative outlet and to keep myself sane. Maybe, one day I'll write somethign publishable, but right now, I just do it for fun. I have more stories, bits of pieces written down and stashed in a secret folder on my laptop, what I'm trying to get at is, I only reposted my stories due to popular demand. I never realized how much this and all my other stories meant to my readers, didnt really realize it meant as much to them as it did to me (i'm sorry) and I'll never delete them again (i hope). 
> 
> Just close your eyes and write the roller coaster with me. I promise it'll be worth it x

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
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> +
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> I imagine them all looking exactly like this:
> 
>  
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> [](http://imgur.com/m5zNEXs)  
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> ^ All young and pretty and preppy and beautiful c: x

**Chapter One:**

Niall descends his father’s dented Subaru and looks up at the ring of imposing dorms and can’t quite believe he is there. Everything he saw was nothing less than perfect. The stone and brick buildings topped by shingled roofs and spires, tradition and pride oozing from every single brick stone; cherry trees lining the seed walks which with no doubt would burst forth with big, beautiful blossoms in the summer.

Niall closes his eyes for a second to take it all in before he got overwhelmed. The sound of expensive cars popping, the loud giggles of girls nearby as they united and squeled in joy, the sound of the water from the fountain in the middle of campus. He inhaled the smell of a new beginning.

“A new beginning,” He whispers as he opens his eyes and looks around in awe. How did he end up here again? oh yeah, thanks to good grades, superb lacrosse abilities and of course, his father’s insistence and a recommendation from a former student here. (his older brother’s cooler ex-girlfriend; Nathalie)

“What was that?” His father, John, asks as he pulls Niall’s single bag out of the trunk of the car. His attention is quickly averted as a shiny limousine pulls up next to them, and Niall swallows, reminding himself where he is. 

A man gets out of the driver seat; in uniform and with a stoic expression. He walks up to the passenger seat and opens the door. Out steps a tall boy with a cocky smile clad in a gray-blue uniform; he has blond, slightly curly hair and striking honey brown eyes. Niall feels himself blush when he looks towards him and his father.

He suddenly feels self-conscious because of his clothes, his father and their beat-up car. The guy looks at them with a raised eyebrow for a second before dismissing them as he fishes out his phone and begins clicking away. Meanwhile, the driver begins unloading bag after bag from the trunk, and Niall can’t help but think it’s a little over the top. But what does he know about the rich.

“Are you sure about this, bud?” His father asks him, and Niall feels himself tense up. Out of everyone in Niall’s family, his father had been the one not to doubt him for a single second. Even his brother, Greg, who’s idea it had been in the first to follow Natalie’s footsteps - she had transferred there for her junior and senior year before continuing on to Harvard and undoubtly glory - had blanched when he’d seen the ridiculous tuiton. However, his daddy had been there from day one. He had used hours on the phone with the financial aid department; he’d sent in Niall’s lacrosse tapes all the while reassuring him that he was going to “take ‘em with storm”.

He can’t feel doubt _now_.

Niall looks into his father’s eyes - a clear blue just like his own - and he realizes he isn’t doubting Niall, he is doubting _himself_. He is doubting whether he can survive at home with Niall’s pill-popping mother now that Niall is gone as well. His mother, pale and thin, grouses about how everything bad happened to her, tearing Niall down, tearing Greg down, tearing his father down. Greg already made his escape when he left for college in New York, last week. Now it was only his father left to deal with his mother.

“I don’t have to go,” Niall says with a dry mouth and his voice almost cracks. “Just say the word and we will drive right back. It’s alright.”

He is lying. It’s not alright. He doesn’t know if he’ll survive seeing this place so close and then have it ripped from him. He already feels physically ill just at the possibility.

His father’s face softens.

“I could never do that, bud,” He says and squeezed Niall’s shoulder. “But I appreciate the offer.” Niall feels sweet, cool relief flood him. he smiles.

“You’ll be alright, dad,” He says quietly. “We’ll both be alright.”

“No doubt,” His father hums before pulling Niall into a hug. “I love you, bud.”

Niall knows, getting him out of that hellhole is about the most obvious display a parent can display for his child. 

“I love you too, daddy.”

Before Niall knows of it, he’s staring after his father’s car as it leaves and he turns around, suddenly feeling incredibly alone in Prescott Academy’s large compound.

He takes a deep breath and forces a smile upon his lips. He knows it will be alright. He hopes it will be alright. He exhales, grabs his bag and walks across the compound toward his dorm; Gambeldon Hall.

Kids in uniforms are littering the campus, laughing together, comparing schedules and gossiping about who hooked up with who over the summer. Niall feels the loneliness claw but he shakes it off. He’ll make new friends; hopefully.

He walks around the fountain and his attention is claimed by loud, unapologetic laughter and he insitively turns to look. A group of kids is standing at the fountain and Niall stops up completely when he sees who the laughter is coming from.

A boy.

 

He is standing in the middle with everyone’s undivided attention on him. The admiration and awe on the faces of the other kids is so obvious, and Niall can see how they’re hanging onto his every word like it is gold; how some are pushing so they can stand closer to him. and Niall can’t blame them, because this guy oozed _perfection_ , and _holyshit_ is he handsome. He isn’t really tall, and Niall is almost sure he is shorter than himself. However, his posture; the way he holds himself, the way he _knows_ he is the center of attention, completely makes up for that. He has feathery-looking auburn hair falling over his eyes; ocean-blue eyes formed into crescent as he laughs at something a girl says. (The girl literally glows, no kidding)His uniform looks like it was fished from the bottom of a duffel bag though. Wrinkled shirt, frayed blue jacket, tie balled up and shoved into the breast pocket; but he pulled it off without effort. The kid says something that makes the crowd laugh and Niall knows he’s found the popular kid.

 

Niall is about to move on before they notices him staring (maybe drooling a little), but then the one boy suddenly turns around and looks directly at Niall. Niall freezes, his eyes widens and his mouth falls open at the too familiar face.

Bright green eyes, tall lanky figure, dimples and that... that _curly_ head. Yep, Niall has definitely seen that face many times before. He has seen that face _everywhere_. On tabloids, magazines, posters, videos, underwear lines, on the girls from his old school’s phones, hell, he’s seen that face _so_ many times in his own bedroom, hanging on the wall.

That curly-haired kid standing there couldn’t be...

“Harry Styles,” Niall whispers under his breath, and he is sure he looks like a gaping fish, standing there out of place in his street clothes.

Harry levels him with a gaze, a flicker of amusement dancing in his eyes and Niall can see from the cocky smirk on his lips that he knows Niall has recognized him. What Niall couldn’t fanthom was how everyone is staying so calm when an _international pop star_ is standing _rightthere_ in the flesh.

Harry nudges the boy next to him, and he stops whispering something into a giggling and blushing girl’s ear to look at him. Harry says something and nods towards Niall. When the other guy turns to look at him, the blush creeps up his neck and settles in his cheeks, heavy and hot.

The guy looks Niall up and down, and Niall has never felt more exposed in his entire life. He looks away, grabs his bag and makes an escape.

Niall is breathless when he reaches the entrance to his dorm, because he might just have begun running once he was out of eyesight. He can’t believe this place. If types like Harry Styles is running around then what was next?

Holyshit, Harry Styles actually goes to the same school as him. He is so not having a fanboy moment that second - only that he is. He _loves_ Harry’s music, and he can’t believe that he came that close to him. god, he can’t believe that Harry actually _looked_ at him.

“Get out of the way, dude,” A gruff voice cuts off his moment and a larger body rudely shoves past him.

“Hey!” Niall yells annoyed and the guy stops up to glare at him. “No need to shove people.”

“You were staring into thin space like a weirdo,” The guy justifies and without waiting for Niall’s reply, he opens the door with his card.

Niall is miffed and tries to brush it off. Of course he’s going to live in the same dorm as this asshole. He grabs the door before it closes and goes inside as well.

He finds his room on the second floor and is more than pleased there’s an elevator there. 

The door into his room stands wide opened and looking inside, he gathers his roommate hasn’t arrived yet. He smiles, then he has time to get used to what would be his room for the next two years. He takes a deep breath and steps inside, his eyes flickering around, checking out the room.

The dorm room was bright and airy with freshly painted eggshells walls and gleaming maple floors. Two huge windows faced the quad, one over each of the twin beds, filling the room with sunlight, Not bad, he thought stepping further into the room and noting the large, walk-in closets and the antique but well-kept oak furniture. The scent of wood polish filled the air and Niall inhaled it deeply with a grin on his lips.

He loved the room already.

He chose one of the beds and threw himself on it, grinning up at the unfamiliar ceiling. The excitement was bubbling inside of him and he couldn’t wait to start his new life here, make new friends here. (and possibly fanboy over Harry from a distance)

He’s in the middle of unpacking and making the room his own when a person appears in the doorway. Niall looks up to see a boy with wild orange locks, face covered in dark freckles and huge, shit-eating grin on his lips.

“Hey! You must be my new roommate!” He says enthusiastically and strides into the room, throwing his bags carelessly towards the unoccupied bag before charging towards Niall. Niall only has time to get to his feet before he is engulfed in a bone-crushing hug and the guy’s cologne fills his nostrils.

“Uh..yeah… I am Niall,” Niall says and tries not to make it too obvious that he’s nearly choking. He takes in a deep wheezy breathe when the boy finally releases him.

“Hi! I am Jordan! Are you a junior too!?” Everything Jordan says is with a little more energy and enthusiasm than necessary but well, the guy seems nice enough so Niall just laughs nervously.

“Uhm yeah, you too I guess?” He asks and Jordan nods energetically. “Yup! But I haven’t seen you around before! Where are you from? Which classes are you taking? When did you arrive?”

Jordan asks more questions than what Niall finds comfortable, but he soon discovers that Jordan has an attention-span like a gold fish - thank god - so it doesn’t take long before he lounges into some other story from his summer in France.

Niall suppresses a sigh at the foreboding feeling that this is going to be a long year.

By the time Niall is done with unpacking, Jordan has pretty much told him his whole life story. To Niall’s horror, the redhead doesn’t seem to shut up for even a second, and Niall suspect he doesn’t even need air. He talks and talks and talks, and Niall is slowly going insane.  
Jordan tells him about his parents that own a vineyard in South Africa, about his older sibling that is studying in Princeton - Niall perks a little up at that, because Princeton is his dream school - about their summer in France, hell, he even tells him about his dog back home and a whole lot of other crap, Niall does nothing to remember. He almost wants to snap “ok, your family is super rich like everyone else here. But guess what, I don’t care!” but he doesn’t, because Niall has always been nice than that.

 

“Aren’t you going to unpack?” Niall manages to cut through Jordan’s stream of words, and Jordan actually shuts up just for a second to glance at his luggage, then shrugs. “I can do it later,” He smiles and he seems to do that an awful lot. “By the way, haven’t you gotten your uniform yet?” He asks and looks at Niall’s clothes. Niall looks down at himself and shrugs. “Was thinking about going to the school now,” He says.

“Not now,” Jordan says and walks up to Niall curling an arm around his shoulder. “The year’s first assembly is in a few minutes. We have to be there!”

“Oh… eh okay,” Niall says and lets his new roommate drag him off.

The first assembly is being held in campus quad and according to Jordan, the regular morning assemblies will be held in the Gwendowill hall. The campus squad is a sea of blue and gray, all the Prescott students clad in their uniforms. Plaid skirts with gold accents or plain gray pleats for the girls. Blue or gray pants for the boys. Niall feels very much like an outsider in his street clothes.

“Oh looks, there’s Kevin and Brandon!” Jordan suddenly says and without warning pulls Niall along to a couple of guys standing a little away. Niall isn’t very pleased to see one of the guys is the one that so rudely shoved him this earlier.

“Hey guys! This is Niall, he’s new!” Jordan says and they look up. Kevin has a short, buzz-cut hair, awkwardly tall with glasses and earbuds in his ears. He nods towards Niall. “Hey.”

Niall smiles nervously. “Hey.”

Brandon just gives him a short, bored look before looking away and Niall feels the heat settle in his cheeks; what a total jerk.

“Sorry, He’s just like that,” Jordan apologises in turn receiving a withering glare from Brandon. Suddenly the noise in the crowd dulled to a quiet hum and everyone turned towards the chapel at the north-end of the quad. A tall African American women in a perfectly cut black suit strode out the center of stage, a microphone in her hand. She smiled at the crowd which grew silent, before testingly tapping the microphone.

“Welcome students to a new year in Prescott Academy,” She began.

The crowd cheered and applauded.

Niall looked around and subconsciously tried to find Harry and the other guy with his eyes, but it was impossible with all the people there. He looked back towards the women as she began to talk.

“For those who doesn’t know me I am headmaster, Jensen,” the woman continued. There were more cheers that she politely allowed to die down. Niall looked around his peers in pure surprise. They genuinely looked like they liked their headmistress, a huge difference from his old school where everyone more or less despised Mr. Hamilton - the headmaster at Crystalmont high.

The headmistress continued making a small, brief speech that was also met with enthusiasm among the students. 

“That’s all for now, I am sure you don’t want to listen to me for too long, there’ll be plenty of that for the rest of the year,” She said with a wry smile. “Welcome your student body president, Liam Payne.”

Niall nearly jumped out of her skin at the explosion of applause. He got on the tip of his toes to get a glimpse of this well-liked person as everyone clapped their hands above their heads. He got a glimpse of blue and grey but that was about it. However, it wasn’t long before the mania died down and he was allowed to get a good look.

And _holyshit_ was this place filled with good looking guys?

Flawless, summer tanned skin, the brownest eyes Niall has ever seen and that _smile_. that smile that told that he knew everyone was looking at him, admiring him.

“I believe you’ve all had a productive summer,” He says with a teasing lilt to his voice, looking over the crowd, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “And by productive I mean full of parties, exotic destinations…and other things.”

As the crowd cheers he cast a glance towards the headmistress who gave him a warning look and a smile that was “watch it pal” and “you know you can do whatever you want” all rolls into one. Niall still couldn’t quite understand the vibe between student and headmistress, almost bordering to friendly. This is definitely something new. Something he can get used to.

“But now we are back and it’s time to get back to business,” Liam continues and Niall hangs onto his every little word, and he thinks that as long as he can hear Liam’s voice, he will die satisfied.

Once the assembly is over, Jordan drags Niall to the school store so he can get the school’s colors. The store was jam-packed with students stocking up on supplies and uniform pieces.

“Okay, I don’t think I need all of this,” Niall objects when Jordan throws shirt after shirt on top of the pile of clothes in Niall’s hand. “Just in case,” Jordan hums and checks out a pair of ties.

“Is the tie really obligatory?” Niall groans as he eyes the ties in Jordan’s hand. 

“Yep, they are, now which one would you like, gold or grey?” Jordan asks holding up two ties.

“Grey, definitely.” Liam suddenly appears out of thin air accompanied by a couple of boys, and Niall nearly has a heart attack. _Oh god_.

“Good eyes, Mr. President,” Jordan says and slings the grey tie around Niall’s shoulder. 

“Oh, you must be new,” Liam looks at Niall with warm brown eyes, and Niall feels like a puddle. “I am Liam.” He says, like Niall doesn’t already know that and offers his hand.

Niall takes it with a slightly shaky hand and offers a small smile.

“Niall.”

“Welcome to Prescott Niall, hope you’ll like it here,” He says and he smelled incredible; clean, crisp and fresh and Niall’s only wish that moment is to inhale his scent till the day he dies.

“Thank you,” He goes for his best smile. “Nice to meet you Mr. president,” he adds slyly and Liam grins at him oh so perfectly.

“Please, call me Liam,” He insists.

“Okay then, _Liam_ ,” Niall draw his name and he hope he realizes that he’s trying to flirt with him, because Niall _wants_ him, doesn’t care how far out of reach he seems.

That is however quickly shot down when a pretty girl with latté-colored skin appears next to Liam. “Hey, love,” She says and kisses him on the cheek. “Hey babe,” Liam says and looks at the girl with this god forsaken adoring look in those puppy eyes.

Niall feels like the biggest fool ever and wants to hide in a hole. Of course, someone like Liam wouldn’t only be straight but also have a gorgeous girlfriend. Fuck his life.

“Danielle, this is Niall, his new.” Liam introduces and Niall offers a stiff smile.

“Nice to meet you,” He lies but Danielle doesn’t seem to notice. She steps forward and kisses Niall on both cheeks. “Hello Darling, welcome and nice to meet you too.”

Oh, Niall wants to stab her in her perfect face.

“Hey Li, are you quite done, yet?” 

Niall first now notices the other guy behind Liam, and well, of course he is just as cute as everyone else here. Seriously, what does the rich drink?

“Oh, this is my mate, Josh,” Liam introduces and Josh looks at Niall with an almost penetrating gaze. Niall feels himself blush and looks away shyly. First then does he realize that apparently Jordan has ditched him in favor of chatting with a couple of nerdy-looking guys a little away.

“Nice to meet you,” Josh has stepped forward and is smiling at Niall now. “You are new.” He states unnecessarily and Niall just nods mutely. If Josh that the way his checking Niall out is discreet, then he has some serious work to do.

“Nice to meet you too,” Niall smiles and laughs nervously. “I’ll just go and pay for this stuff.” Without waiting for reply, Niall turns around and nearly runs towards Jordan.

“Let’s get out of here,” Niall hisses, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. “Oh, you’re ready?” Jordan asks and Niall just nods, heading for the cashier.

…..

That nights is the alumni welcome party, and embarrassedly enough, Niall doesn’t own anything worthy of such a formal event. It _kills_ him that he has to borrow a suit from Jordan and he’s more than relieved that Jordan doesn’t even ask why he doesn’t own a suit. The boy has more than he needs, so he gladly offers Niall to choose one.

The thing is, Niall hates suit, but he has a feeling he has to get used to it.

When they are all ready, Niall trails after Jordan and some other guys from their dorm to Prescott Ball room where the event is to be held. Once he steps inside, Niall’s breath is literally taken away as the decoration is breath-taking. The vast chamber was at the center of the Prescott Building, which was a huge, colonial-style structure situated on a crest overlooking the Potomac. The building housed several art collections, an exclusive library, a catering kitchen, and several smaller gathering rooms. Niall had seen photos of this room in the school's glossy catalog, but not one had done it justice.

“Yeah, it’s stunning, isn’t it?” Jordan grins, reading Niall’s expression. “It’s booked five-years in advance for weddings during the high season.”

“Only alumni can get married on campus and have their reception here,” Brandon says with a ‘know-it-all’ tone, and Niall actually knew it already, but he figures Brandon is the type of guy that likes to think he knows more than others. 

"There are currently six APH alumni in the Senate and twenty-three in the House of Representatives," Brandon continues, looking around the room. "Not to mention White House staffers and Wall Street millionaires and international business gurus. There are more power players circulating in this room than there are at most state dinners."

Niall feels a little dizzy. He has never been in the same room as so many important people at the same time. Niall looked around the room to distract himself; there weretrays of hors d'oeuvres and flutes of champagne, overdressed women eyeing one another's choice of frock, and underdressed men checking their watches. And the vibe was festive. Bubbly. Full of froth. Not a care in the room. Which suited Niall just fine; he needed carefree.

He was about to go fetch him a drink, but then Jordan grabbed his arm. “Oh look! My parents are here! Let me introduce you!” Niall didn’t even bother to protest and let himself be dragged off by Jordan with a deep sigh.

 

“Well, if this isn’t boring,” Louis sighed and took a swig of the drink in his hand. He eyes the crowd of people with a bored look. “Let’s just leave and do something more interesting.”

“You aren’t allowed to leave, Louis, you know that,” Liam says and Louis sends him a scowl. “Well sorry, Mr. President,” He mocks and rolls his eyes.

“Hey, Louis, look, isn’t that the kid from this morning?” Harry says, catching sight of a shock of blond hair in the far end of the room. Louis follows his eyes and smirks. “Oh, the one that was staring. It certainly is.”

“You mean Niall?” Liam asks confused. “He is new, nice kid.”

“Niall is his name, huh?” Harry murmurs interested and follows the kid with his gaze. He can’t help but smile at how awkward the kid looks standing there.

“Niall? where is he?” Josh appears next to them and looks around searchingly. Harry raises a brow at him before nodding in the general direction. “Cute, right?”

“Adorable,” Josh smirks, eyes intense as he stares at Niall.

“Who are you guys talking about?” Zayn asks bored as he sips to his drink. He is about to follow Harry’s eyes but someone else catches his eyes. There is that creepy foreign girl again, _staring_ at him in that way that makes Zayn’s skin crawl.

“She gives me the creeps,” He mutters, and Louis raises a brow at him.

“Huh?”

“Erika Hofmann,” Zayn says with a slight shudder and glares when Louis laughs loudly and obnoxiously.

“Oh, she’s still stalking you?” Louis asks amused and looks towards the frizzy-haired girl. She is taking pictures of the event. She has milky-pale skin, face covered in dark freckles and wild, red-brown hair. She is actually pretty in a kind of humble way. Louis’ gaze slides down to the Nixon camera around her neck. “I bet she has naked pictures of you on that camera,” he teases and laughs when Zayn chokes on his food.

“Shut up,” He grumbles.

“You can’t blame her, Zayn. She’s just wants something of your majestic grace, and you should be more generous,” Louis grins and Zayn ignores him.

“But, maybe we should just get rid of her?” Louis muses, his voice light, but Zayn looks at him warily. “What do you have in mind?”

Louis smirks, his eyes slowly travelling over the crowd before settling on the new blond kid. He glances at Josh and Harry who are arguing who of them can get him to suck them off first. Louis rolls his eyes and downs the drink.

“You’ll see,” He replies to Zayn, before sauntering away. Harry and Josh realize what he’s up to and follow him. Liam frowns worried, shaking his head and heading into the crowd to mingle; events like these are all about making connections. (like Liam doesn’t have enough as it is.)

When Niall sees Louis, Harry and Josh approaching, he nearly has a heartattack and automatically clings to Jordan, chanting “oh my god” “oh my god”. Jordan looks at him like he’s lost his mind. “Niall, what’s wrong?”

“Uh…ehh..” Niall stutters, unable to form a sentence as he catches eyes with Harry’s who smirks at him and when he winks, Niall is sure he’ll die right there, right then.

Jordan follows his gaze and when he sees the three who are now are a few feet from them, he stiffens.

“Oh my god,” He mutters. “What do _they_ want?”

When Louis, Harry and Josh stops a little in front of them, Niall is practically hiding behind Jordan for reasons he can’t explain.

Louis looks directly at him, his blue eyes piercing, pinning Niall down.

“Hey new kid,” His lips curves up slowly in a smile, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I have a preposition to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I was peacefully strolling through tumblr and I am following this girl who draw quirky, cute and funny drawings of 1d and then I stumble upon a masterpiece (needless to say, I lost control and sent her a manic thank you). It was a drawing of Louis saying the last line "hey, new kid." and it's brilliant. I don't know if I'm allowed to put the drawing here, but I'll link you:
> 
> http://laa-art.tumblr.com/post/72192742710/hey-new-kid-his-lips-curves-up-slowly-in-a


	2. Chapter 2

**chapter 2**

 

“You _have_ to do it, Niall,” Jordan stares at him with wide, brown eyes and Niall groans, trying to mute him out by plugging his earphones in his ears and turning the volume up. It takes less than 5 seconds before Jordan has joined him on the bed and ripped the ear buds out of his ears and Niall glares annoyed at him. Jordan, however, isn’t deterred.

“Do you even realize _who_ those guys are?” Jordan asks for the 100th time that night and Niall rubs a hand down his face with a sigh.

“You told me about a thousand times,” He grits out.

“Louis is the son of _Carole Young_ , do you have any idea of successful that woman is?” Jordan asks, and Niall swallows.

“She has won over one trillion awards, acted in billion of movies and blah blah blah,” Niall repeats Jordan words mockingly, but Jordan nods solemnly.

“And don’t get me started on Harry Styles! That guy is super famous all over the world, even surpassing Justin Bieber,” Jordan says wide-eyed, and Niall nods. (At least Harry is known for his own hard effort and not his family’s status and money)

“I know.”

“And Zayn. He’s a real-life _prince_ , and Liam literally has free access to the white house because of his parents position,” Jordan rambles off and looks at Niall expectantly.

“You do realize that I’ll move out if it so happens that I agree, right? You’ll be left alone,” Niall asks, brow raised questioningly at his roommate, before it is pulled into a frown. “Or do you _want_ me to leave?”

Jordan rolls his eyes.

“Not at all! I just want you to take this opportunity, this dorm is like nothing against privilege house!” Jordan exclaims and suddenly grabs Niall’s arms, looking into his with big eyes. “You can’t let this pass you by, Niall. it’s one in a life time. Do you have any idea!?”

“I just don’t understand why they want me to do it, why can’t they ask someone else? Or do it themselves?” Niall huffs and shrugs Jordan off his being. “Besides, it’s not _right_. if that girl is taking pictures or whatever then they should just ask her to stop. Do they have turn it into a drama?”

“Niall!” Jordan sighs dramatically. “Just..please, think about it?”

“Fine.”

But really, is there anything to think about? Louis wants to see the pictures the girl doubtlessly has transferred to her computer and for some odd reason, he wants Niall to get it for him: in return, Niall will be granted a place in Bravicks Co-ed Dorm- informally known as Privilege House, and as the name indicates, the place is much more luxurious to live in than the other dorms. However, Niall fails to see the appeal as he is quite satisfied with his current dorm - well maybe living from across the hall from the likes of Harry Styles and Liam Payne isn’t such a bad thing, but still.

Jordan won’t get off his back though, and Niall is actually quite resolute _not_ to follow through. However, on the next day when they are ordering their dinner - yeah, this place has waiters in the cafeteria, how fucking ridiculous is that? - Jordan of course can’t shut up a single minute and tells the whole table about the other night and Louis so called preposition.

As expected, Brandon is a complete ass about it.

“I don’t believe it,” He scoffs, and Niall frowns.

“What?”

“Why would they even bother talking to _you_?” Brandon states bluntly, and the implications of his words makes Niall blush in a mix of embarrassment and anger.

“Brandon!” Jordan exclaims appalled and sends Niall an apologetic glance.

“Well, they did,” Niall bits out and the urge to smack Brandon is overwhelming.

“Bet they were just messing with you,” Brandon says off-handedly. “No way they would let _you_ into privilege house.”

“Wanna bet?” Niall hears himself say and really, it is unintentional, but before he knows of it, he’s made the bet with Brandon that they _will_ let him in if he does as they say.

Jordan is ecstatic and Niall is anything but. How the hell is he supposed to not only get into the girls’ dormitory, into the girl’s - Erika if Niall remembers right - room and hack into her computer and get out again in one piece?

It seems Jordan is more willing to help though.

“First, we need to work out Erika and her roommate, Athena’s schedule, so we can find the perfect time where they are both out and we can execute the plan without problems,” Jordan explains later that night.

Niall looks up from all the homework he has been loaded on the first day - what on earth is wrong with this place? Do they mistake it for slavery? - and sighs heavily as he half-glares at Jordan.

“Don’t you have homework?” He scowls, and Jordan waves him off.

“This is much more important than homework,” Jordan states and Niall gets the urge to fling him out of the window. Sure, Jordan can neglect homework; it isn’t like his future hangs on a thin line that is a scholarship. Niall doesn’t want to waste his opportunity on this stupid drama.

“Anyway, there’s two ways we can get to both their schedules,” Jordan continues unabashed. “One,” He holds up a finger and Niall gives up on trying studying. “We could stalk them for the whole week; which I might say, might be quite troublesome since we have to get to our own classes as well. Two; we could hack into the counselor’s computer, though we could also hack into the secretary’s, but she’s a real bitch and-“

“Jordan!” Niall cuts through Jordan’s rant impatiently, and Jordan stops up. “What?”

“We are _not_ hacking into anyone’s computer!” He exclaims appalled, god, what’s wrong with these kids, anyway?

Jordan frowns.

“Fine, we could go for the first method but that would quite take some time and Louis has a reputation of being rather impatient and Brandon is going to be all smug and unbearable all week-“

“Oh my god! Fine!” Niall almost shouts. “You’re not going to stop until I agree, anyway, right?”

Jordan smiles innocently.

“No.”

Niall heaves a deep sigh and rubs his temple; he can feel a headache coming.

“Just let me get back to reading, please?” Niall begs and Jordan grins and nods.

“I’ll just plan out how we do it then!”

Niall isn’t sure he likes where all of this is going.

+

“Mr. Pitt?” 

Niall peeks through the open door of his guidance counselor's office. He was kicked back in his leather chair, eating a powdered sugar donut and reading a well-worn copy of A Brief History of Time. The moment Niall appears he sits up straight and coughs, puffing a cloud of white sugar all over his dark blue sweater-vest.

Okay, if he doesn’t want Niall to catch him slacking off indulging in sugar-caked carbs, why leave the door open? 

“Oh! Mr. Horan!”

He slaps the book closed, drops the donut onto a piece of waxed paper, and dusts off his desk with the pinky side of his hand. His gaze is expectant as he rests his thick forearms atop the clutter of his desk.

“Can I help you with anything?” He asks curiously, and Niall knows he wonders what he wants since they talked as late as yesterday. Niall prays that this stupid plan will work. He doesn’t fancy being booted back to Crystalmont within his first week here.

“Actually, yes,” Niall says and hopes he sounds more confident than he feels. He carefully steps into the room. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Absolutely,” Mr. Pitt smiles warmly and Niall steps further into the room, a nervous hand clutching his messenger back.

"I was wondering if you had any SAT study guides you could lend me," Niall says. "I've decided to take the test in October so I'll have plenty of chances to try again."

Well, it isn’t a complete lie. Niall is very aware that he needs to work at least ten times harder than any other of the overly-privileged kids here. He isn’t like them, and he can’t let himself forget; like that would be hard.

“Of course, of course” The counselor wipes his fingers on his brown pants, leaving a white sugar streak on his thigh, which he fails to notice. He bents and yanks open the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet behind his desk, which makes a loud squeal, as if it hasn't been pried free in decades.

Niall glances over his shoulder just as Jordan’s red head pops through the door.

“Mr. Pitt! The copiers are jammed again!” Jordan says breathlessly. “I wouldn't bother you but I need to make copies of this flyer for the first French club meeting before my next class."

“Alright, I’ll be there,” He says, leaving the drawer open and walking out to follow Jordan. “It’ll be just a minute, Mr. Horan.”

“Thanks!” Jordan says brightly and Niall can’t deny that he is surprised Jordan doesn’t glance his way even for a second. Niall thought Jordan would be the kind of person who can’t help a gleeful glance at a plan going well.

“With all the money pouring into this school, you would think they would afford new copiers,” Mr. Pitt mutters under his breath as he follows Jordan out.

Take all the time you need, Niall thinks and as soon as they are out of the door, he heads for the counselors computer with a heart rate that is anything but healthy.

He drops into the man’s chair and stares at the screen. Thankfully, the counselor is already logged onto the school’s intranet and all Niall has to do is type in Erika and Athena’s name and their schedules pops up. Trying not to shake too badly, Niall sends their files to his email.

"Not a problem, Mr. Adams!"

Niall’s heart vaults into his throat. Mr. Pitt's voice is right outside the door. He grabs the mouse and closes the window with his emails and the girls’ files. He just manages to move out from behind Mr. Pitt’s desk when he enters the room, but he’s still standing awfully close to it. Mr. Pitt notices and raises a brow.

“Mr. Horan.”

Niall’s eyes lands on the yellow and red spine of an SAT study guide. He grabs it and stands with a shaky smile.

"Oh, hi! Sorry. Class is going to start any minute so I figured I'd just grab one myself." He holds the book up a bit higher to illustrate. "I hope you don't mind."

Mr. Pitt stands in the doorway for a moment. His eyes travel slowly to his computer, then back to Niall. Niall’s pulse throbs frantically. Is he going to call him out? Check his computer's history?

Please, no. Please, please, no.

But then he smiles. "Not at all. Anything to help.”

"Thank you," Niall says breathlessly before more or less, sprinting out of the door. Outside, Jordan is waiting eagerly for him and looks at him with big eyes.

“So?” He asks hopefully and Niall allows himself a second to catch his breath, before smiling.

“It worked,” He says.

“Yes!” Jordan pumps a fist in the air, and Niall can’t help but laugh as he high-fives the boy.

“Now we just have to find out a time when they both are away from the room,” Jordan slings an arm around Niall’s shoulder and tugs him along.

“Yeah,” Niall says. He still isn’t entirely sure why Jordan is so eager to help him, but he is happy the boy is and dare he say it, he might have begun to like the kid.

+

In Prescott, it is obligatory to sign up for an activity and Niall has to choose between his all times favorites; lacrosse or football. After much internal debating, he ends up choosing lacrosse since he thinks, he is a little better at that than the latter.

He is in good mood and high spirit when he reaches his first practice. However, he ends up with a miniature heart attack when he discovers who else he will be sharing the field with.

None other than Louis Tomlinson.

Fuck his life.

Niall comes in the middle of a practice match, and the coach is too busy shouting out commands to notice him standing there awkwardly. He settles for watching the game. He isn’t all that surprised when he discovers that Louis is the captain, and he is a little scared at how aggressively Louis seems to play; it’s almost like he’s in a war. Oh well, they do say sport is a war, right? Needless to say, Niall isn’t so sure of his choice anymore.

He is silently contemplating to sneak out before anyone notices him, but of course that’s when the coach blows the bell and turns to regard him.

“Niall Horan?” He all but barks, and Niall straightens up.

“Yes, sir.”

“What are you doing standing there!? Get ready to get out in the field! Where do you play?” The coach’s voice is a lot louder than necessary and rings in Niall’s ears. 

“I used to play on the Attack wing, sir,” Niall replies.

“Will see if you’ll remain there or end up fetching water for the players,” The coach states and Niall gulps. “Boys! Come meet your new teammate, Niall Horan!”

Niall tries not to squirm and fiddle with his fingers as the team of boys all turns their eyes on him. Niall tries not to, but can’t help but glance towards Louis to see his reaction. The boy is smirking at him with amusement dancing in his blue eyes.

The other boys proceed to welcome him on the team and Niall does his best to remember all their names. Louis is last to approach him, all sweaty and so perfect that Niall thinks it isn’t fair.

“New kid,” He smirks as he boldly looks Niall up and down. “So you play.”

Niall nods mutely, not sure where he lost his voice.

“Sweet,” Louis says, the smirk still plastered on his face. “I hope you’re good. I can’t afford anything less on the team.” For a second Louis’ eyes turn hard, and Niall swallows.

“Uh, I am, I assure you,” Niall replies and Louis’ face breaks out in a grin.

“Glad to hear,” He says and then suddenly, he’s in Niall’s personal space. “I am still waiting for those pictures.” He breathes into Niall’s face, his hot, minty breath hitting him.

“I am working on it,” Niall tries not to faint from how close he is standing. Louis smiles and claps him on the cheek. “Don’t take too long,” He says and even though he is smiling, there’s something unmistakably dark about his eyes. “I am not a very patient person.”

Then he leans away, sends Niall a last smirk before returning to practice.

Niall feels like he has gotten himself into something he shouldn’t have.

+

As it turns out, it isn’t that difficult to find a time when both Athena and Erika aren’t in their dorm as they both are part of the drama club.

“The next time they have a meeting is like _tonight_ ,” Jordan says excited and Niall can’t understand why he is enjoying this as much as he apparently is. “We are both free then! We can go right after dinner.”

Niall groans.

“How are we going get into her computer? It’s probably protected by a password,” Niall says hopelessly but Jordan isn’t deterred for a single second.

“We’ll figure something out, don’t worry.”

Later on, Niall finds himself lurking around the girls’ dormitory along with Jordan, waiting for someone they can slip in after.

“Do we really have to this?” Niall all but whines and Jordan rolls his eyes at him.

“Yes, we have to,” He confirms firmly.

Niall sighs to himself, wondering if he really is too deep in to pull out. If he doesn’t go through, then what is the worst that can happen? Louis will just have to find someone else. But for some reason, he has a strong feeling Louis doesn’t like his ‘preposition’ to be shot down.

“Now!” Jordan jolts him out of his thoughts and he looks up just in time to see a tiny girl exit them dorm. They wait a couple of second before jumping out of their hiding places and catch the door before it closes.

“Phase 1, complete,” Jordan says and Niall rolls his eyes. He doesn’t feel comfortable in the girls’ dorm so he rushes Jordan to the elevator. “2nd floor,” Jordan says as he had taken it upon himself to figure out where the girls live and Niall pushes the button.

They reach the floor and are immediately met with music and girls’ chatter behind their doors. Thankfully, there aren’t any girls roaming the hall and even though Jordan assures him that they wouldn’t raise suspicion as boys sneak in here all the time, Niall doesn’t feel safe.

“This should be the room,” Jordan says and takes a breath before pushing the door open. Before, Niall thought the rules of no locks on the doors were ridiculous but right now, he can’t be more thankful. They both step into the room and take a second to look around.

Niall doesn’t know what he expected but the room looks relatively normal and girly. Both sides of the room are neat and organized, but Niall feels sick at the thick perfume hanging in the air.

“That must be her side,” Jordan nods to the right and Niall thinks so as well, because there are all kind of pictures of Prescott buildings, events and students plastered across the wall. “Look! She left her computer out.”

Jordan walks over and Niall follows. A slick, thin silver macbook pro is resting on the desk with the screen open. “Do you think that…” Jordan trails off as he touches the mouse and the screen comes to live. It takes a second for Niall and Jordan to realize that they are staring at some background picture of some exotic beach.

She has not only left the computer out, she has left it open as well.

Is this pure luck or what?

“Holy shit! This is easier than expected!” Jordan exclaims and grins at an astonished Niall.

“I guess so. What now?” He asks dumbly.

“Now, we have to find the pictures,” Jordan explains patiently as he begins to open several folders. Within the folders of named “campics”; there are a lot of folders all with initials. “Well, this is going to take time.”

“I am not sure how much time we have,” Niall says nervously. Jordan makes himself comfortable on a chair and opens folder after folder with Niall hanging over him, jumping every time he hears the tiniest creak. Niall doesn’t know the girl, but all he can say is that she’s a really good photographer. She knows how to make the simplest thing beautiful with the right lightning and angle.

“Found anything yet?” Niall asks as he nervously glances towards the door. He can just imagine the girls finishing their meeting early and finding them in their room, hunched over their computer. Niall would be out of Prescott before he could say “Well, that was that.”

“Not yet,” Jordan mutters, clearly getting frustrated himself. “Maybe we should try again, another time.” 

“No!” Niall exclaims louder than necessary and Jordan blinks at him confused. “I am not doing this again. It’s now or never.”

“Alright, alright!” Jordan says and another few, nerve-wrecking minutes go by before Jordan says; “Wait…”

He opens a folder with the initials “ZM”, and they hit jackpot.

“Oh…my…god…” Niall breathes out, his mouth going dry as he stares at the subject of all the pictures. He blinks a couple of times, not sure if he can trust his eyes, because surely there’s no such beautiful person walking this earth.

The guy has latté colored skin, high cheekbones, sharp jaw line, deep-set brown eyes, full, kissable lips.

Niall is sure he is in love.

“He is fucking _gorgeous_ ,” Niall breathes as Jordan clicks through picture after picture. Zayn in class, Zayn in the library reading a book, Zayn with friends laughing, Zayn sitting on some steps sipping to a cup of steaming coffée and so on.

Jordan notices Niall’s obvious eye-raping and says;

“Yeah and he has a girlfriend.”

Niall’s open mouth shuts tightly and he wants to punch something (or someone, preferably Zayn’s girlfriend). Why are all the guys taken? And straight? Is he the only one into dudes in this place?

“Of course,” Niall growls.

“This girl is obsessed with him, sure he’s a prince but-“

“He is the prince?” Niall interrupts, vaguely recalling Jordan telling him that before.

“Yep, prince of Dubai to be exact. Anyway, this is a little too creepy,” Jordan says, and Niall can’t help but agree. In all these pictures, it’s obvious that Zayn has no clue they are being taken but he still manages to look like some kind of super model. (Photogenic genes run in the royal’s blood, Niall guesses)

Jordan sticks an USB to the computer and Niall wakes up from his trance.

“What are you doing?” 

“What does it look like? They wanted to see them, right?” 

“Oh.”

In a few minutes, Jordan has copied the folder to his usb and they are out of the dorm as fast as possible. Niall allows himself to breathe in deeply once they are out of the perfumed hell and in the fresh air. A few students are walking through campus, most of them on their way back from after-school activities or the library, but it’s quickly getting deserted.

Jordan grabs Niall’s palm and plants the usb in his hand. “There you go. It wasn’t that bad, right?” Jordan grins and Niall smiles unsurely.

“What is going to happen after they see this?” He asks, because he isn’t sure he wants the poor girl to be hurt in any kind of way. Really, he can’t blame her for obsessing over this Greek god; he will probably do the same for the next couple of years.

Jordan shrugs carelessly.

“Don’t know,” He replies uninterested. “It’s getting a little cold. Wanna come back to our room? My mom sent me some chocolate from Switzerland.”

“Sounds deliciously,” Niall hums. “But I have to get something from the library first.”

“Ok, see you later,” Jordan says, mocking a salute and turns around, walking in the direction of their dorm.

“Yeah, save some chocolate for me!” Niall shouts after him.

“Sure!”

+

Niall kind of, no he _absolutely_ loves the library. It isn’t like those modern libraries but it is has an old feel to it. It’s always quiet and smells of old pages and new books.

What he doesn’t love is the librarian who is a grumpy old lady who obviously hates the existence of rich teenagers; it’s besides Niall why she took the job. When Niall asks her for help to find a certain book, she makes it clear how troublesome he is. In the end, he gets the book and heads home.

He is humming some mindless tune and isn’t looking where he is going, so he ends up walking directly into someone else. He nearly loses balance but a pair of hands comes down and steadies him.

“Woah, look where you’re going, kiddo.”

Niall looks up at the familiar voice and a pair of familiar brown looks back.

It’s that guy with Liam the other day. What was his name again? John? Jim? Josh? Oh yeah, Josh.

He seems to recognize him too if the smirk is anything to go by. (What’s with rich kids and smirking anyway?)

“Niall,” He hums and Niall straightens up.

“Sorry, didn’t see you there?” He smiles apologetically and tries to walk around him. Josh halts him with a hand around his arm.

“What’s the rush?” He asks, and Niall is a bit confused.

“Huh?” He says, oh-so-charmingly.

“Did you get the pictures?” Josh looks at him curiously and Niall nods mutely. He smiles at that.

“Good, can’t wait to see you pretty face around more often,” He says and strokes Niall’s cheek before sauntering away like nothing.

Niall stands back a few moments, wondering what just happened and if that guy was hitting on him. He blushes, shakes his head and hurries home, this time making sure to look where he is going; he doesn’t need more unexpected encounters.

+

“You’re still here?” Brandon smirks the next morning at breakfast. “They rejected you as predicted, huh?”

Niall is about to reply but Jordan beats him to it.

“Actually Brandon, you are going to witness first-hand, how they don’t reject him,” Jordan declares.

“I am?” Brandon asks bored.

“He is?” Niall repeats and stares at Jordan.

Jordan nods. “Yup, it’s the perfect time. They’re all there, you should do it now,” He says and nods towards Louis’ and company’s table. Niall glances over there and just at the thought, he feels sick with nerves.

“I can’t. not now,” He says. “I’ll just give it to Louis during lacrosse practice.”

Brandon scoffs, and Niall sends him a glare.

“Come on, Niall,” Jordan frowns. “Now is the best time.”

“The boy said he can’t, he is clearly afraid,” Brandon says, his voice condescending and Niall grits his teeth.

He really has to stop reacting to Brandon’s words but he finds himself standing on his feet anyway. “Watch me,” He bites out and Jordan claps his hands excited. “Yay, Niall!”

Niall is halfway through the cafeteria when he gets cold feet and the urge to just turn around is huge. However, he refuses to give Brandon the satisfaction, so he clenches his jaw tightly and walks determinedly over to the table at the center of the cafeteria. He notices the increasing attention he gets from the other students the closer he comes and it isn’t long before the whispers spreads through the cafeteria.

Niall stops at the end of their table and all of them look up at him. Louis, Harry, Josh, Liam, Zayn, Danielle and a whole lot of other people Niall doesn’t know. They all look pretty curious.

Niall tries his best not to stare at any of the extremely good-looking guys at the table as he fishes out the usb from his pocket and hold it up between two fingers. 

He can see other students stretching their neck to get a better look. 

Niall locks eyes with Louis who’s looking at him with an entertained expression.

Neither of them says anything for a brief second.

“Here’s what you wanted,” Niall manages to sound nonchalant and cool, and he slides the small item across the table and it stops right in front of Louis. Louis slowly picks it up, a smile slowly spreading across his lips.

“Wait, what is that?” Liam blurts out, voicing the thoughts of the others at the table.

“Excellent,” Louis says, ignoring Liam’s question. He gestures to a girl who is tapping away on her computer. “The laptop,” He all but demands and the girl looks like she’s about to protest, but one look from Louis and she hands it over.

Louis pushes in the usb and everyone at the table gathers around him to get a look as well.

Niall observes Zayn’s face all the while trying to suppress the urge to run a hand along his perfectly shaped jaw. Louis opens the folder and Zayn pales immediately. The other at the table either looks confused, amused or slightly disturbed.

Louis cracks a grin.

“Well done, new kid,” he says and Niall wonders if he’ll ever call him by his name.

“Babe, are you okay?” A pretty, small blonde girl touches Zayn’s shoulder concerned, and Niall frowns; that must be the girlfriend and of course, she’s perfect.

“I feel sick,” Zayn mutters and leans into his girlfriend as she kisses his temple affectionately. Niall has to look away in jealousy.

“Don’t worry, Z,” Louis says. “I’ll take care of it or rather…” He looks at Niall. “Niall will take care of it.”

Niall looks confused.

“What?”

Louis closes the laptop.

“I want you to give her a message from me,” Louis says. “Tell her I want her gone from Prescott by tomorrow morning, or she doesn’t want to experience what will happen if she stays.”

Niall gapes in shock at Louis. He is waiting for him to burst out laughing and tell him he is joking. However, Louis doesn’t bat an eyelash, just stares right back at Niall, his blue eyes cold. Niall looks around the table but everyone is going about their business and doesn’t seem to find Louis’ words disturbing at all. Liam kind of looks bad but he doesn’t meet Niall’s eyes.

Niall looks back at Louis.

“Are you serious?” He blurts out and this time, everyone looks up. To his surprise, they look rather shocked that Niall even asked that. Louis narrows his eyes for a nanosecond before he smiles sweetly.

“Yes. I am dead serious.” Louis deadpans without a hint of humor in his voice.

“I can do it,” Josh says, apparently sympathizing with Niall.

“Sit down, Joshua,” Louis orders when Josh attempts to stand, and Josh does as he is told.

“Breakfast is almost over, new kid,” Louis says. “Do it.”

“What? Now? here?” Niall whispers in disbelief, and Louis expression tells him, yes, right here, where everyone can see and hear.

Niall is about to object, is about to say screw this and all of you, but he can’t. He realizes that Louis posses a power that Niall doesn’t want to oppose. He has a feeling, Louis won’t hesitate to turn his despise on him instead. Niall can’t risk losing this scholarship. Never.

He is stiff and he is breathing superficially when he turns around and slowly, but surely walks towards where the girl resides at.

He reaches over there too soon and he feels like throwing up when he sees the looks of pure foreboding on all of the tables’ occupants’ faces. His hands are getting clammy and his throat dry. He glances towards his table where Jordan is sending him a concerned look.

Niall closes his eyes, counts to three then looks directly at Erika Hoffman. The girl looks like a deer caught in headlight and she looks so small and vulnerable that Niall can’t believe what he is about to say.

“Erika,” He says, his voice wavering slightly. He takes another deep breath. “Louis wants you gone from the school by tomorrow morning.” He says in one breath and dares to look into the girl’s eyes. He can see something _break_ inside of her as her skin goes ashen, the freckles on her skin a sharp contrast, and Niall wants to hide when the tears wells up in her eyes.

“Oh my god,” She whispers, a mouth coming up to cover her mouth. She hastily gets to her feet almost tripping in the process and gathers her books, before running out of the cafeteria with tears streaming down her face.

Niall stands back, frozen on the place and feeling like the biggest asshole ever. By the time he comes back to life, he looks towards Louis who sends him a nod of approval; Niall’s stomach flip and this time, he is the one to rush out of the cafeteria, rumors and gossip blooming in his wake.

+

Niall can’t look anyone in the eye that morning and he is very aware that everyone seems to be talking about him; speculating and creating mindless rumors. He has gone directly from class to class, not giving Jordan any room to question him.

It’s lunch time when Niall is walking across campus, fully intent on spending lunch in his room when he walks upon a commotion. People are for some reason packed around privilege house and Niall can’t help his curiosity. He pushes past the mass of people and asks a random girl what is going on.

“Leo Share was caught cheating in his English literature test,” She whispers back giddily, obviously excited about the scandal. Niall is a little shocked. He would never have thought that kids like these would need cheating; don’t they have loads of money for tutors if they can’t keep up in school? He stands on tip-toes to get a glance of what everyone is looking at. Just then, a boy with sandy brown locks walks out of the dorm, closely followed by a man in uniform carrying bags. The poor boy, Leo, looks embarrassed as he walks through the students and waste no time, diving into the car awaiting him.

The crowd is quickly dispersed by a few teachers, and Niall is about to turn away and walk when he catches sight of a familiar face.

Louis, Harry, Zayn and Josh are standing a little away under a tree and Louis catches eyes with him and sends him a wink.

Niall gets a very bad feeling and rushes away.

+

“Niall! please! Talk to me!” Jordan pleads on their way back from dinner later that night.

“What is there to say!?” Niall hisses. “We got a poor, innocent girl bullied out of school!”

“A creepy, obsessive girl,” Jordan corrects but cowers away at Niall’s glower.

“It’s not right! she doesn’t deserve it just because of those stupid pictures!” Niall rages as Jordan opens the door of their dorm. “I mean they could have just asked her to stop. As easy as that. Why did they have to ruin her life and use me to do it? I already can’t stand those guys!”

Josh gasps horrified.

“Don’t say that! Everyone likes them! Everyone wants to be friends with them.”

“Well not me!” Niall snaps and stalks out of the elevator. “They’re a group of self-righteous, arrogant, pretentious…”

Niall trails off when he opens the door and is met with a completely empty side. His books drop out of his hands and his jaw joins them on the floor.

“Niall?” Jordan says concerned as he steps in next to him and his eyes widens when he see it as well. “Wow.” Is all he can say.

“We’ve been robbed! _I’ve_ been robbed!” Niall screeches in panic as he looks at the completely bare room where all his stuff used to be.

“I don’t think so,” Jordan says a bit nervously and Niall spins around to stare at him.

“What?” He asks.

“I think we both can figure out where all your stuff went.”

+

“You can’t just do this!!” Niall exclaims as soon as he barges through the doors of what he was told is Louis and Harry’s room. He is set and ready to give them a piece of their mind and nothing in the world can stop him… well except _that_.

Niall halts and freezes when he’s met with a half-naked Harry who is wearing nothing but a tiny pair of boxers. 

He’s practically naked.

 _holyshit_.

Louis looks up from where he is sipping to a suspicious-looking liquid from a _wine glass_ , and Harry stops up whatever he is doing. They both stare at him.

Niall’s brain short-circuits and he completely forgets why he is there to begin with as he openly ogles Harry’s half-naked body. 

Harry, of course notices and smirks smugly.

“Hello, love,” He all but purrs and Niall is waiting for the inevitable heart attack.

“Put on some clothes, Haz, you’re flustering the poor kid,” Louis says and looks fondly at his roommate. Harry grins and pulls on a shirt and trousers. Damn it.

“Niall, I was expecting you,” Louis turns fully around in the office chair he is sitting on and reminds Niall of a bad crime movie. 

It takes a moment or two for Niall to remember why he barged through the door in the first place, then he remembers, and nothing can make him forget again, not even sexy pop stars that are looking at him intensely.

“You can’t just move my stuff without my permission!” Niall splutters.

“Darling, I don’t ask permission,” Louis says, his voice a tad condescending and Niall’s jaw clenches.

“You should be _thrilled_ that you get to live here, anyway,” Louis says and sips to what is doubtlessly wine; is this guy for real.

“I am not sure I want to live here, not after what happened this morning,” Niall feels the guilt heavy on his shoulders. “You bullied a girl out of the school. That’s not right.”

“She was making my friend uncomfortable,” Louis reasons as he gets to his feet and summons another wine glass, pouring in the scarlet liquid. “It had to be done,” He says solemnly as he walks up to Niall.

“You could just have asked her to stop,” Niall says.

 

“Where is the fun in that?” Louis replies and shoves the glass into Niall’s hand.

Niall looks down at it for a second, dumbfounded.

“It’s a school night,” he says incredolously.

Louis just smirks and clinks the glass against Niall’s before bringing it to his lips and saying with a mischevious smirk;

“Welcome to our world, Niall.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [](http://imgur.com/m5zNEXs)   
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> ^ I imagine them looking pretty and preppy and young and beautiful like this c:


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wonderful beta/proof-reader: Rijaa
> 
> I looked it over and if there's mistakes, then I have overlooked them, but remember we're only humans.
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>  
> 
> enjoy x

Privelege

**Chapter 3**

It’s a cold and extremely dark night; the moon and stars are covered by the clouds. It’s one of those nights when the wind rips the leaves off the trees every time it blows. The leaves still wet from the morning drizzle, feel slimy and foul when they happen to fall on exposed skin. So, when another gust of wind blows through the clearing, everyone ducks and covers.

Niall feels himself shiver as he looks around, he will not let himself question why he ever agreed to this.

“Ewwww! There’s one on my neck! Get it off!” Danielle screeches, doubling over with her shoulder to her ears. Danielle has never hit Niall as a person who drinks a lot, but she is currently clutching the bottle she had swigged from throughout night. It’s like she’s trying to wipe the previous night that had just finished with a ceremony in the Prescott chapel, from her mind. The wet leaf is stuck into her thick, curly hair and Niall watches as Liam comes to her rescue.

“There you go, babe,” he says as he flings the leaf to the side and affectionately strokes her hair. She mutters something under her breath and leans into her boyfriend’s arms. Niall might just be a little jealous. He watches them for awhile, wondering what they’re doing here, because they don’t seem the type to break rules and regulations. Liam had come off as this perfect person who did no wrong and excelled in his studies, but Niall doen’t know what to think of a student president in the middle of the woods.

Well, at least he isn’t drinking.

He pulls his thin jacket closer around himself and quietly observes the people around him. Louis, Harry, Josh, Zayn and Perrie are all there along with a few others from their dorm. Zayn and Perrie are sitting on a rock, snuggling together in order to keep warm and whispering what Niall assumes are sweet nothings into each other’s ears. His gaze continues to Louis who is having a hushed conversation with Conrad; Niall’s new, chill roommate. Harry is sitting by the fire along with a few other girls and boys.

They are all currently in a clearing in the woods just outside Prescott academy. What they’re doing is entirely illegal, but for some reason Niall doesn’t feel nervous at all. It has been a rough week and he feels like he needs to unwind.

He watches the others for a while, wondering whether this is what rich kids normally do, because it isn’t that different from what Niall knows. They all look so perfectly content and without a care in the world. Niall wonders if he’ll feel the same way, the longer he hangs out with them.

“Everything alright, Niall?” Josh appears next to him and smiles at him. Niall smiles back uncertainly. He isn’t entirely sure, but he is beginning to think that Josh has a thing for him; flattering, but Niall isn’t sure if it’s mutual.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Niall nods.

“Do you want Zayn to fix you one of his specials?” Josh asks and Niall shakes his head, lifting the green bottle in his hand. “No, it’s fine.”

Josh smiles and he looks at Niall with this glint in his eyes that makes him feel warm deep in his belly.  Another gust of wind sweeps across the clearing and Niall shivers visibly.“You cold?” He asks, and before Niall even has a chance to reply, Josh has already wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer. Niall is glad that it’s dark, so Josh doesn’t see the blush on his cheeks. “Better?” Josh asks and Niall nods mutely, not having anything against stealing Josh’s body heat.

They are standing like that when Louis looks over and Niall stiffens at the look in his eyes. There’s something unmistakable in Louis’ eyes that tells Niall, he doesn’t like what he sees. Unsure, Niall pulls away from a confused Josh.

“Everything alright?” He asks and reaches out for Niall again, but Niall steps out of his reach.

“Yeah,” He says throatily. “Just want to go over to Louis and Conrad.”

The last thing Niall wants is to get on Louis’ bad side, he has a feeling he hasn’t seen half of what Louis is capable of. He silently wonders if Louis might have something for Josh.

When he reaches Louis and Conrad, the former look in Louis’ eyes has completely vanished and he sends Niall a big smile.

“Niall, are you joining us?” Louis asks and takes an elegant sip from his drink. Niall nods mutely. Conrad nods towards him in recognition. “We were talking about this year’s first game,” Louis says and for some reason, Niall can’t help but feel he’s lying. Either way, he joins them in the conversation that soon turns towards bashing their opponents - a team from Barton high - or more like; Louis bashes while Niall laughs and Conrad just smiles.

After a few minutes, Niall decides to join the group at the fire. He halts when he hears the conversation going on.

“It’s going to be epic this year, Halloween is less than a month away,” an Asian guy with dark spikes, whose name Niall can’t seem to remember, says.

“The Legacy,” Harry hums.

Niall quirks an eyebrow in interest. Legacy? What on earth is the legacy? He’s about to walk forth and ask, but then suddenly, Jessica Hardison pops up in front of him.

“Niall! How are you?” She says as she grabs his arm and leads him away from the boys at the fire. Niall stiffens and isn’t sure what to make of the situation. Ever since Niall moved into the privilege house a few days ago, the girl had done nothing but scowl at him. He later discovered that the room he had inherited, had belonged to her boyfriend - Leo Shore.

That she is suddenly friendly raises suspicion.

“Uh..you okay?” Niall asks, confused at her sudden change of attitude.

“I’m fine!” She beams, and her pearly-white teeth nearly blind him. Jessica is dark-skinned with dark-hair and has a body full of curves. Niall feels her soft curves press against him and he blushes in embarrassment.

“I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I just wanted to let you know that I’m sorry. It isn’t your fault that Leo has been expelled,” she says and looks at him with big eyes. “Can you forgive me?”

He takes a second to inhale her sweet perfume and smiles.

“Sure.”

“Yay! Let’s take a picture!” She says excitedly and produces a miniscule camera from the pocket of her leather coat. “Smile!”

Niall smiles and the flash goes off. He blinks at the purple dots decorating his vision.

“A classic,” she smiles as she checks the screen. “Cool,” Niall says as he glances towards the fire, only to meet Harry’s eyes. Harry smiles and winks at him causing Niall to blush; the urge to play with Harry’s curls becomes strong. “I’ll be right back,” he tells Jessica and turns around.

Just then, everybody sitting at the fire jumps to their feet and exclaims “Whittaker!!”

Niall nearly falls over his own feet.

“What?” He asks dumbly.

“Gentlemen! Ladies! Oh it warms my heart to see you all gathered here like ol’ days!”

What?

Niall spins around to face the voice and nearly has a heart attack. Walking up behind him is the largest specimen of a guy he has ever seen outside of a football college game. He has to be at least six foot four and is well over 250 pounds, but he carries all that weight with dignity, his shoulders pushed back and his stride confident. He has ruddy cheeks, round glasses, and a much older man's haircut, the kind that stands up in the front about an inch and is matted down with gel at the back. He strides across the clearing, nodding to the others standing there like some aristocrat before reaching out a hand to smack palms with Harry, the Asian boy and another dude - Jeremy was his name, Niall thinks.

“How are we all this fine evening?” He asks in his booming voice as he rubs his hands together over the fire.

Niall stares at his large back wondering who on earth was he and why he talked like he came out of an old novel.

As he walks back to Louis and the others, he vaguely hears them ask him about some trip to South Asia. The guy replies something that makes them all holler with laughter. It’s like Santa has walked in with presents or something.

“Who on earth is that?” Niall asks as soon as he reaches Louis. Louis hands him another beer, and Niall takes a long swig, letting the cool liquor wash down his throat.

“That… is Walt Whittaker,” Louis says with an amused look as he watches Whittaker from where he stands. “He is a class unto himself.” Louis suddenly turns to look at Niall with a mischievous smile.

“Is someone a little interested?” He teases and Niall feels his face burn.

“No,” he says and shakes his head, glancing at Whittaker and shuddering lightly; the guy was definitely not his type.

“Why not, he could take you places.” Zayn appears out of nowhere and Niall nearly has whiplash when he spins to look at him. He stares at the boy for a moment trying to process that he talked to him. Zayn hasn’t said a word to him since he moved here, let alone glance in his direction. Niall is a little shocked that his deep voice was directed at him.

“Huh?” He asks dumbly and Zayn shares a look with Louis that he isn’t sure he likes.

“He could give you things, things you wouldn’t have access to,” Louis states.

Now Niall is both confused and interested.

“He isn’t interested. Leave him alone,” Josh joins them and looks quite grumpy. Louis sends him a sharp look that even startles Niall, and Josh looks away with a sour expression.

“I should introduce you,” Louis says and grabs Niall arm. He pulls him across the clearing before Niall even has a chance to protest.

“Hey Whit!” He shouts. “Here’s the boy I told you about.”

Before Niall can comprehend what’s happening, Louis uses his surprising strength to more or less throw Niall right into Whittaker’s large arms, the alcohol spilling at their feet. Everybody laughs and Niall blushes madly.

“Are you quite well?” he asks using both meaty arms to steady the much smaller blonde.

“Uh, yes,” Niall mutters embarrassed.

“Walt Whittaker,” he says and offers his hand. “My friends call me Whittaker or Whit. Your preference.”

“Niall Horan,” Niall says and shakes his large hands.

“So, Niall. I understand you’re new to Prescott, welcome,” he says and holds onto his hand for longer than necessary; doesn’t it release until Niall pulls away.

“Yes. You’re not?”

For some reason, everyone finds that hilarious and the blush seems ever-present on his cheeks.

Whittaker looks at him with this look that parents give their toddlers when they say something adorable.

“No. no my family has been a fixture here for generations,” he explains. “I’ve just been out travelling in Asia with my family. China, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines… have you ever travelled, Niall?”

Niall shakes his head.

“Not really.”

He looks at Niall for a long moment, like the words he said didn’t compute. Niall turns fidgety under his scrutinizing gaze.

“That’s a shame,” he says after awhile. “You can only truly know yourself once you’ve seen the world, you know?”

No, Niall doesn’t, but he nods nevertheless.

Niall is forever thankful when the Asian kid - Linh Tsujimure, Niall remembers - clamps a hand down on Whittaker’s shoulder, grabbing his attention.

“Hey come on, tell us what you know about the Legacy!” He says.

Whittaker smirks.

“The Legacy, huh?” He muses. “Is it that time of the year, already?”

What on earth is this Legacy thing anyway? Niall is dying of curiosity at this point. He wanted to ask but it is obviously one of those things everybody knew about and asking would just remind them what a big outsider he is. He just has to figure out another way.

“Perhaps we can catch up later?” Whittaker peers down at him hopefully.

“Uh… sure?” Niall replies unsurely.

Whittaker smiles before letting Linh drag him towards the fire, and Louis steps up to Niall.

“So, you worked your magic?” He asks, smiling and Niall frowns.

“Louis, I am not into him,” he states, but apparently Louis doesn’t take no for an answer; should he be surprised?

“Give the poor guy a chance, he obviously likes you,” Louis says with a small sigh. “I thought it he would be good for you… he’s very…cultured.”

Niall’s face feels hot from the implied insult but he chooses to ignore it.

“Just go talk to him,” Louis insists. “You don’t have to marry him.”

“Bring him some of this,” Zayn steps up to them, apparently having been eavesdropping and hands over a spare flask of his special mix.

The flask is ice-cold and slick in his hand. Niall looks at it for a second before meeting Louis’ expectant gaze. He decides to talk a little to Whit, if anything to get Louis off his back for a while.

“It was eye opening, I have to say, living among the locals,” Whittaker says as he and Niall stroll away from the clearing. “They have nothing. Nothing but a wooden bowl and a cup of rice to eat, but they have spirit, you know? Such spirit.”

“So you slept in the village?” Niall asks, half- interested, keeping his eyes trained on his feet. He is on the fourth beer now, and things are starting to get the slightest bit bleary. “That's so cool.”

He can’t remember whose idea it had been for them to go off alone and get to know each other. Whit’s? His? _Louis'_ ;?

“Oh, no. We went back to the hotel, of course,” Whit says. “Do you realize the number of diseases one can pick up in a place like that?”

Niall looks up, waiting for him to acknowledge the irony. “But I thought you said you lived among them.” Just then, Niall’s foot hits a rock and slides, twisting his ankle inward. He stumbles and falls sideways into Whittaker.

“Oh.Whoops!”

“Are you quite well?” Whit asks him, steadying him on his feet.

Niall clears his throat. Around him the trees tilt and sway.

“Yes. Quite,” Niall says, mimicking Whit's tone. Who talk like this?

 “Perhaps we should sit,” Whittaker suggests.

Niall feels as if the ground tilts and he wonders why anyone even drinks for fun. He feels quite nauseous.

“Good idea,” he mutters.

Whittaker leads Niall over to a thick log that must have fallen sometime in the past century and is now overgrown with moss and vines. He lowers the blonde down slowly until he is steadily seated, and only then does he let go.

Niall braces one hand on the cold, rough wood to keep from falling over and shakes his bangs out of his eyes. Niall tries to ignore Whittaker smiling down at him while studying his face intently.

“What is it?” Niall finally questions, not able to keep quiet any longer.

To his surprise, Whittaker flushes and looks away, drinking from his flask.

“Would you like some?” He asks.

Niall thinks it’s probably not a good idea to drink anything else, but he also knows Zayn mixes some kind of juice into his special concoction. And somewhere else in his brain, something decides that it might be a good idea to consume juice. Since it has vitamins and all.

“Sure,” he says. “Why not?”

He places his nearly empty beer bottle down on the ground and almost falls over. His palm hits the dirt and he pushes himself back up, trying to cover it up, but his equilibrium is shot. When Niall reaches for the flask, he tips over into Whittaker's arms. His eyes close in embarrassment and the ground shifts.

“Sorry,” he mutters.

“That's all right,” Whittaker replies. “Here. Let me help you.”

He places one of his solid arms around the blonde's small blonde and Niall instantly feels more secure, less wobbly. He manages to get the top off the flask and takes a long drink. He sighs contently, Zayn’s special mix is yummy and Whittaker is so warm. He probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the moment as much if he isn’t drunk but at the moment, he closes his eyes and savors it.

He tips the flask back and once again the ground shifts.  He jerks and the liquid goes down the wrong pipe. His airway closes off and he chokes, spitting alcohol everywhere.

“Are you alright?” Whit asks concerned.

“Fine! Fine!” Niall chokes, doubling over. Whittaker fishes out a handkerchief from his pocket and hands it to Niall. Niall coughs into it and wipes his face. The handkerchief is soft, smells of musk, and has his initials embroidered into it. Old school all the way. Hah.

No one Niall knows even owns handkerchiefs, but somehow he is not surprised.

“I'm so sorry,” Niall says when he finally catches his breath. He tries to hand the handkerchief back to Whit, but he just closes his hand over Niall’s, causing him to crush the handkerchief in his closed fist.

“Keep it. It's yours,” he says.

Niall blushes, not sure what to think.

“You must think I'm a total loser,” Niall says, looking down embarrassed.

“Quite the contrary,” he says and out of nowhere, cradles Niall’s chin turning his face towards him, while looking into his eyes. “I think you're extraordinary.”

Niall isn’t sure how it happens but suddenly Whit is kissing him and he freezes completely. He doesn’t know what he has done to make the guy think he could just kiss him.

Niall doesn’t know what to do with himself and drunken out of his mind, he slips his hand around Whit’s thick neck. The second he does, Whit grows more confident. His mouth moves against Niall in a rough, unpracticed and awkward back-and forth motion, so fast that it seems as if he’s trying to create fire with their lips. 

Niall gets flashbacks about his latest ex-boyfriend back home and even though he turned out to be a big jerk, he kissed way better than this.

Intent on stopping the madness, Niall grabs Whit’s face between his hands but the guy takes it as a sign of enthusiasm. Suddenly his tongue is everywhere, parting Niall’s lips and darting between his teeth.

Niall is 100 percent sure that the kid doesn’t know what he’s doing and a part of Niall wants to shove him away while another doesn’t want to embarrass him. In the end, he lets him go and hopes that Whit will suddenly improve or at least stop.

He jumps when his large hand suddenly falls high on Niall’s thigh, purposely travelling up towards his crotch.

Niall’s stomach flips and he feels the sickness coming. He holds his breath and oh god, he is going to throw up in Walt Whittaker’s mouth.

His hands fly up and shove Whit away, who lets out a confused murmur when Niall turns around and keels over, retching all over the bed of leaves behind the log.

Whittaker stands up and moves away, turning his back to Niall in order to give him some privacy. Thank God. The last thing Niall needs or wants is for the guy he had just kissed to watch him puke all over the place.

And then, finally, it’s over.

“Are you all right?” Whittaker asks him.

It was like his refrain of the evening.

Niall nods slowly, too mortified to speak.

“Can I walk you back to Privilege house?” he asks.

Niall wants to say no, he really doesn’t want the guy anywhere near him but he figures in his state, he won’t be able to find the way back to the clearing. Whittaker wraps an arm around him and walks him back. Niall feels mushy like overcooked pasta and embarrassed beyond belief.

Everyone is strung upon their arrival and Niall can just imagine how he looks. For a fleeting moment Niall’s unfocused gaze falls on Josh. He looks as grim as death.

“Aw! Look at you two, all coupley,” Louis sings with a knowing smile and Niall wishes he had the strength to glare. (But the way Josh glowers at Louis kind of makes up for it - only if Louis pointedly ignores Josh's heated glare).

Josh must feel Niall's eyes on him, because he turns toward him; as soon as their eyes meet, he quickly looks away, swigging his beer.

I'm going to walk him back,” Whittaker announces, sounding proud. Niall feels himself shrink.

“Take care of our little boy,” Louis says teasingly, winking and clapping Whit on the back.

From somewhere deep inside of him, Niall summons a trace of a smile. Even in his extraordinary state of queasy shame, he feels the warmth of Louis’ approval. And though he knows it is totally spineless to bask in it, he does. 

One thing he quickly comes to know at this place is that, Louis’ approval means everything. (And it feels like everything)

+

When Niall wakes up the next morning, the first thing he notices is the sour taste in his dry mouth. The next thing is the pounding pain in his temples and then the sharp sunlight flowing in through the large windows of his new room.

He groans in misery.

“You should probably get up if you don’t want to be late for the morning assembly.”

Niall squints up to see Conrad tying his tie, all fresh-looking and ready. Niall guesses he was more reasonable with the liquor last night.

“Ugh.. Yeah,” Niall croaks although he buries his face deeper in his pillow. The thought of classes today seems unbearable, why on earth did he drink as much as he did last night? God.

“Here are some pills for your head ache and water,” Conrad says a couple of minutes later, placing the items on Niall’s nightstand. Niall tilts his face up to give Conrad a grateful smile.

“Thanks,” he says and Conrad just nods; a hint of a smile on his lips.

It’s weird. The thing is that Conrad is the polar opposite of Jordan in every aspect of the word. Where Jordan is a bit under average in height, pasty and thin like a stick, Conrad is tall, dark skinned and buzzed hair. He doesn’t talk much and from what Niall has gathered from the last couple of days, he is serious about his grades. Niall probably needs that a roommate like Conrad.

Conrad leaves and after a few minutes, Niall forces himself off the bed and stumbles into the bathroom he shares with Conrad. Once he comes out, he takes a few moments, once again admiring his new room.

Jordan wasn’t lying when he said it would be much better than his old room. It isn’t even a room, it’s a suite. It consists of a large bedroom, a bathroom, and a lounge area. The bedroom is outfitted with two dressers, two desks, and two walk--in closets. The bathroom boasted both a sunken tub and stall shower, and connects to the quaint lounge on the other side, which contains several bookshelves, a pullout couch, and a small flat--screen television.

He kind of misses Jordan though and wishes he could be here with him.

He swallows the pills and gets ready for the day.

+

Once he has a freshened up a bit, he walks to the cafeteria and finds the others at the usual table. For a second, he is about to walk to his old table where Jordan and his other band mates sit, out of habit, but Louis waves him over.

“Good morning,” Niall says as he tentatively sits down in a free seat in the middle of Josh and Zayn. He receives collective replies.

“You’re up. For a second I thought you wouldn’t be, what with your wild night last night,” Louis comments, biting down a red apple. Niall pins his gaze on the table in front of him and attempts to ignore Louis all together. Of course, Harry has to jump on board as well.

“But really, what did you guys do? You looked completely drained.” Niall looks up at him to glare and Harry just wriggles his brows at him suggestively. Niall doesn’t reply and makes his order as a waiter comes to take it.

“Nothing happened,” Niall mutters under his breath, but Louis looks skeptical.

 “Oh really?”

 “Really,” Niall bites out and prays that someone will change the topic.

“Oh look, there’s your man,” Louis says, and Niall stiffens in his seat, his gaze shooting up and true enough, there is Walt Whittaker; big as a mountain on a clear day, heading straight for their table. 

Flashes of last night hit him like a machine-gun to the skull; Warm brown eyes. A handkerchief. Thick arms. Rough lips. Tongue, tongue, tongue. A hand too high up on his thigh.

Fuck; had he really let this person feel him up!?

“Niall? You okay?” Josh asks concerned and Niall feels his semi-cold hand close around his under the table. Niall glances at Louis, who is watching them with a scrutinizing and calculating gaze.

“I… am not hungry,” Niall mutters and getting to his feet, he heads in the opposite direction than the one Walt is coming from. He doesn’t want to be within teen feet of that guy.

+

He manages to avoid any human contact that morning and when he walks towards the Wolcott Hall café to get himself a drink and possibly read a little before his French class but, he is unfortunate enough to walk in on Louis, Zayn and Harry kicked back on three cushy lounge chairs on the patio outside.

Niall’s first reaction is to spin on his heels but he has barely taken a step when Harry notices and shouts him over.

“Hey! Niall! Over here.”

Niall stills for a second, growling all kind of profanities under his breath before plastering a fake smile on his lips and turning around. “Hey guys,” he says, voice fake chirpy and walks up to them. He stands there a little awkwardly because there isn’t another seat available.

“You can sit here,” Harry says and pats his lap. Niall stares at him while trying to fight down the blush creeping up his cheeks. “Uh, no, it’s fine,” he says and turns to walk to another table but Harry grabs him by the wrist and with one strong tug, Niall ends up half-lying on top of him.

“Harry!” He splutters in embarrassment and tries to get up, but Harry has a firm hold around his middle. Harry just chuckles in his ear. “Aren’t you adorable.”

After a few moments of futile struggling, Niall simply gives up.

“Where did you go this morning?” Zayn doesn’t even spare him a glance when he asks and he is slowly beginning to strike Niall as a tiny bit stuck-up; however, he is rich and a prince and insanely hot, Niall can forgive him.

“Nowhere, really,” Niall mutters, because he doesn’t want them to know that he was throwing up in the toilet.

Louis regards him with a studying gaze for a second, but doesn’t say anything.

Then a group of younger looking kids appear in front of them; two girls and one boy to be more exact. The girl has short-cut dark curls and is carrying a tray of coffee.

“Here’s your coffee,” she says brightly and begins handing them over to the boys. She gives him an odd look, and Niall can’t really blame her; he isn’t sure what he is doing in Harry’s lap either.

“Thanks, love,” Louis says and the girl’s face brightens even more if possible.

“Here’s the blazer you requested,” the boy says and steps forward, giving the piece of article to Zayn who takes it with a curt nod. “Thanks.”

The kids take a step back and look at them.

“Do you need anything else before we leave for class?” The first girl asks, and Louis shakes his head while waving them off.

“Don’t be late on our account, darling,” he says and sips to his espresso.

They all nod and walk away.

Niall is silent for a second and then questions; “What the hell was that?”

“Oh, that was Quinn and her friends,” Harry says, his breath hot against Niall’s neck. “They are sophomores and cater to our every need.”

“Oh, so basically they’re your slaves?” Niall comments dryly and Louis raises a brow at him, amused.

“I wouldn’t put it like that,” Louis says, shrugging a shoulder. “They’ve been hanging on us, asking us what we need every second so we just assigned them some duties to keep them busy. Don’t worry; we didn’t force them or anything. We don't roll like that”

Niall stares at him.

These guys are unbelievable, aren’t they?

+

When classes are over that day, Niall heads straight home and takes a long shower before heading for the library to get some reading done.

He is peacefully sitting and reading the novel they are reading in his English literature class, when someone heavily takes a seat in front of him. Niall tears his eyes from the page and looks directly into Jessica’s chestnut brown eyes.

“Oh, hi, Jessica,” he smiles, but it quickly falls when he is meet with a look of doom.

“Hi, Niall,” she says tonelessly as she opens her small, slick laptop and begins to click away.

“Uh, everything alright,” Niall asks nervously.

“We need to talk,” she says gravelly, doing nothing for Niall’s nerves and he pushes the book aside. “Ok?” he says and tries to egg her into a smile with his own; no such luck.

“Come, sit here next to me,” she orders as she pulls out the chair next to her, and Niall hesitates for a second before complying.

“What are we doing?” Niall asks confused and she smiles stiffly at him.

“Just a little show,” she tells him and clicks open a window on the computer.

What he first sees on the screen doesn’t make sense other than that it’s a photograph of some sort; it looks like a tongue, a very close-up shot of a tongue. Then suddenly the view goes wide and Niall’s heart stops beating for a second.

It’s his tongue. He has his eyes half-closed and laughing.

“When did you take this?” He asks breathlessly, glancing at Jessica.

“Just watch,” She says, and so he does.

The next picture is him chugging a beer in the woods. And the next; him with his hands on Whittaker’s chest. Whittaker and him walking away from the clearing together. His arms around Whittaker, his mouth hanging open sloppily, a flask of liquor in his hand. Whittaker with his mouth pressed against his. Then Whittaker’s hand on his thigh.

Feelings of dread and shame overwhelm Niall as he stares at his face in the photo. His head is tipped back and it looks like he’s moaning in pleasure, when in fact he had been about to throw up. It makes him look like a slut, like a drunken whore who lured some guy out to the woods.

“Why . . . why are you showing these to me?” He asks as the slideshow starts up all over again. He looks away, unable to see it anymore; to see the truth of what he did.

“Because I want you to understand how very serious I am about what I‘m about to propose,” Jessica says and looks him dead in the eyes.

“You do know what these pictures mean, right? You do realize that if I choose to do so, I can get you booted out of here so fast your head will spin.”

Niall feels the tears prickle at the corner of his eye. She is right, of course she is. She has photographic evidence of him breaking some very serious school rules. Even worse, it looks as if Niall and Whittaker have done it all alone. Even though there had been close to a dozen other people in the woods that night, not a single one of them appears in these pictures.

 “Why are you doing this?” He asks.

“Because there's something I need you to do for me,” she says, standing up straight.

“What?” He asks confused. What could this millionaire’s daughter, possibly want from him?

“Louis Tomlinson and his little friends are responsible for getting Leo kicked out of school,” Jessica says. “They set him up.”

Her accusation takes Niall by surprise and he takes a moment staring at her like she’s insane. She just stares right back, her face set in hard, serious lines.

“What?” He finally exclaims. “What are you talking about!? How do you even know that!?”

“I just know,” Jessica says firmly and Niall is positive she has lost her mind. “The problem is I have no proof. And that's where you come in.”

Niall stares at her, having absolutely no idea where on earth this is going.

“It’s your fault my boyfriend got expelled.” She glares at him, her gaze full of hate and Niall shrinks. “They got him expelled to get your sorry ass in. Therefore, you have to provide me with the evidence I need.”

“What? How am I supposed to do that?” He asks.

“I need you to go through everything they own,” she says, her eyes narrowing, “Louis, that dumb pop boy Harry, that arrogant prince Zayn and of course, that hypocrite, Liam.”

“Liam?” Niall repeats surprised and beyond shocked at how she talked about the boys that basically ruled the school.

“He plays all high and mighty, and moral but the truth is, he isn’t even the slightest bit better than the others,” she spits out. “He might shine and gleam on the outside but he is rotten underneath. They all are.”

Niall stares at her mutely. He can’t even picture Liam in such a way. No, the boy is a goody-two shoe - well except when he partied in the woods illegally.

“Wait, I can’t just go through their stuff, they’ll catch me,” Niall says.

Jessica smiles sickly-sweetly at him. “You’ll figure something out.”

“How do you even know if I’ll find anything,” Niall asks skeptical. “If they really did do it, wouldn’t they erase the evidence?”

“Oh no, I know Louis and he is big on trophies,” she says. “They’re keeping it somewhere, I‘m sure. Find me what I need to get their asses out of here and do us all a favor.”

“I-I can’t… I can’t do that,” he stutters and looks up at her with big eyes, hoping she’ll have pity on him.

But Jessica knows no such thing as pity. She just smiles at him cruelly.

“Oh, but you can, sweetie,” she says, her voice dripping with honey, “unless you want that emailed to the Mrs. Jensen and the board including every single teacher at this school.”

Niall is pale as chalk and he glances at the screen where Whittaker has his tongue down his throat. He can almost taste the bile and the end. Tears sting in his eyes. This is about his future, why can’t she see that?

“Do we have an understanding,” Jessica asks.

Niall is silent for a long moment.

“Niall, I asked you a question.”

Niall’s hands are trembling. He closes his eyes. Can he really do this? With Louis being able to take everything away?

But Jessica can take away more.

“Yeah,” He croaks. “We have an understanding.”

She beams at him, the former darkness and poison gone and leans down, pecking him on the cheek.

“Good,” she whispers in his ear. “Now, you can go back to your reading,”

Yeah right, like he can focus on that right now.

He is screwed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta: Cerina. Thank you so much for you help, it was greatly appreciating.
> 
> I skimmed it quickly and if there are any errors, then hey, we are both human.
> 
> enjoy x

Chapter 4

Niall gets up the next morning before the rays of the sun even penetrate through the large windows of his room. He sits upright in his bed for a while just staring into thin space and feeling more exhausted; both mentally and physically.

He glances over at Conrad’s bed where his roommate his fast asleep, his chest heaving in synch to his even breathing. Niall envies him, wishing he could go back to sleep, but he can’t. There’s too many thoughts swirling in his head, slowly driving him crazy.

All he has done all night is imagine Louis and the others catching him in 1 million different ways. In one versions, Louis will grab a bat and smash Niall’s head with it, covering his best friends with blood and brains. However, he thinks he might have been half-asleep at that point.

He sighs and decides to at least get ready. He made his bed, took a shower and dressed himself in his uniform. Every time he would make a sound above a whisper, Conrad would turn, toss, and sigh in his sleep. 

+

A while later, while Niall is doing some homework, Conrad wakes up. “Good morning,” Niall mutters without taking his eye off the math equation he is trying to solve. Conrad blinks, rubs the sleep out of his eyes and doubtlessly looks surprised to see Niall up before him.

“Good morning,” He replies, shoving the covers aside and walking into the bathroom.

“You coming?” He asks once he is ready and Niall nods, closing the book and putting it in his backpack. “Yup.”

It’s when they walk out of the elevator that they hear the commotion down the hall; more specifically from the common study area of privilege house. Niall looks at Conrad with a questioning brow and Conrad shrugs, before they curiously walks over to see what is going on.

They appear in the door opening just in time to see Louis pop open a bottle of champagne and everyone in there hoots; Niall blinks, it was 8 in the freaking morning. Niall gets a better look of the room and first then does he notice that the entire room is filled with white and silver helium balloons. Everyone from privilege house - boys and girls (since it was the only co-ed dorm on campus, though boys and girls stayed in different parts) seems to be in there gathered around an elaborately decorated gifts in the center of the floor, while already opened boxes littered the floor along the walls.

Louis pours the champagne into a glass and hands it over to Harry; who seems to be the center of attention, before moving closer to the pop star and very much to Niall’s surprise, giving him a long smooch on the mouth, making the students around them whistle.

“Happy birthday, love,” He says, and really Niall has never seen Louis look at anyone with that soft, fond look in his eyes before. Apparently, he is the only one shocked by the sudden show of affection. Now, he couldn’t determine if Louis and Harry where together, because Harry flirts with pretty much everyone at every turn and Louis never seems to care.

Niall is standing awkwardly in the door, Conrad having walked inside and joined the celebration, when Harry catches sight of him. 

“Ni-all! Just the person I’ve been looking for!” He sings and walks up to Niall, pulling him into the room. “Here. This is to you,” He smiles and gives him a small box and gives him a kiss on the cheek that makes him blush; he glances at Louis but he has his attention elsewhere.

Niall looks in the box

“What? Why?” He asks dumbly, surprised.

Everyone laughs.

“It’s Harry’s birthday,” Liam informs, and oh yeah Niall gathered that earlier on, but why is he getting a present from the birthday boy?

“Happy birthday, Harry,” He says to Harry with a smile.

“We all get gifts on Harry’s birthday,” Josh tells him where he is perched on a cushion, sipping a glass of champagne. He beckons Niall over to him, and Niall walks over, seating himself next to him.

“I still don’t get it,” Niall says and looks around.

“Every year it’s the same,” Harry says with a roll of his eyes. “The presents roll in from designers, photographers, stylists etc; I don’t have room for all of this.”

“There’s always a ton of duplicates,” Zayn voices from where he is expecting .

“Therefore, I give it away,” Harry says with a careless shrug of his shoulder. Louis comes over with a glass of champagne to Niall, and Niall takes it a little uncertain; after that night in the woods, he is a little more wary when it comes to alcohol.

“Anyway,” Harry says and grabs his wrist, pulling him to his feet, “Why don’t you chose something else or two?”

Niall blinks surprised.

“What? You sure?” He asks, and Harry places a hand around him.

“Yeah, you’re my friend too, right?”

Niall feels his insides warm up at that. He smiles.

“Yeah. We are.”

He looks around at the laughing and smiling faces and realizes that he is beginning to find a place for this overly rich kids in his heart; realizes how much is at stake, how much Jessica can take away from him.

He swallows.

+

“Niaaaaaaall” Jordan cries when they stumble over each other in the library and engulfs Niall in a hug. “I’ve been missing you! It’s not the same without you!” He says, not letting go and Niall laughs, hugging him back.

“Miss you too,” He says fondly as he releases him and Jordan beams at him, pulling him over to a table. “So, dish out. How is it to live in privilege house?”

Niall grins.

“It’s just like you described, though would have liked it better if you were there as well.”

“Aww, aren’t you the sweetest,” Jordan teases. “Tell me everything about it.”

So Niall does tell him everything there is to tell.

“That all sound great and stuff, but why do you look so down, then?” Jordan asks cautiously, and Niall automatically tenses.

“What are you talking about?” Niall says startled, a little defensiveness seeping into his voice, and Jordan frowns a little. “You just don’t look happy. Simple and plain,” Jordan says and Niall licks his lip a little nervously. Truth is, he isn’t happy at all. Not with Jessica’s threat hanging over his head, and he has no idea what to do whatsoever. However, he doesn’t want to tell Jordan about it yet, if ever. But he knows Jordan will not let it go, so he decides to tell him something else instead.

He reluctantly tells him about his unfortunate encounter with Walt Whittaker, and really, it isn’t that far from the truth; that encounter is the reason he is in this mess to begin with. Much to his dismay, Jordan laughs.

“Yeah, laugh at my misery. Why not,” Niall grumbles sarcastically, glaring daggers at Jordan.

Jordan muffles his laughter behind his hand. “Sorry… it’s just,” He shakes his head with a chuckle. “I can just imagine the whole thing, but wow, that really is bad. The poor guy thinks you are into him now or what?”

Niall nods with a grim expression.

“I have a strong suspicion so.”

“What is the problem then? Just set him straight,” Jordan says with a raised brow and Niall nods.

“Yeah, I should probably do that,” Niall says thoughtfully before shrugging off the topic. “Hey, do you know…”

“Oh look, there is Aria Janethon,” Jordan suddenly says, his eyes brightening. “I think I am kind of in love with her, and I’ll make my move now. Hope everything works out for you, Niall.” He pats Niall shoulder before leaving him, following a small, petite brunette out of the door.

Niall sighs with a roll of his eyes, before returning to the work he came to do.

+

The first part of the day goes without much trouble other than Niall is highly distracted and most of the time has no idea where he is or what the teacher is talking about. He has to get a grip of himself or else his grades will get him kicked out long before Jessica had the chance to.

He is on his way to the cafeteria, in hopes some caffeine will wake him up, when he sees Whit leaning against the pillar at the bottom of the stairs. At once, Niall is hit with the images from the slideshow and he feels sick; a feeling he is slowly beginning to associate with Whit’s face.

“Hello, Niall,” He says as Niall walks right past him.

“Hey,” Niall replies curly without stopping and suppresses a sigh when Whit catches up to him with his long strides.

“How are you doing?” He asks, and Niall smiles tightly.

“I’m fine,” He replies, before realizing that being rude properly isn’t the best way forward so he takes a deep breath and glances at Whit. “How are you?”

Whit smiles.

“I am quite okay myself,” He says and stops underneath a tree, forcing Niall to do the same. When Niall takes a closer look, he realizes that Whit actually looks a little nervous.

“Niall, I was hoping we could talk,” He says and Niall tries not to cringe. Okay, he needs to do this and get it over with.

“Concerning the other night, I wanted to apologize,” He says, his eyes a little big behind the glasses. “It appears we both had a tad too much to drink.”

“A tad,” Niall repeats tonelessly

The understatement of the millennium. 

“It’s okay,” Niall says before Whit can lunge into a longer speech of how sorry he is, and the guy looks relieved. He smiles at him.

“I am glad,” He laughs a little. “Now that we are over the awkward part, I was wondering if we could be friends.”

Niall feels weak with relief and this time, his smile is genuine. Friends, he can definitely do friends.

“Sure, Whit,” He says happily.

“Good, friends it is then,” Whit says and suddenly takes Niall’s hand, kissing it lightly. Okay, none of his friends did that but, whatever.

“I have a meeting with the dean now. See you at dinner?”

Niall nods.

“Yeah, sure.”

Walttaker gives him one last time before walking away and Niall lets out the sigh he has been holding in.

“Wow, the guy is really into you,” A voice says close behind him and Niall nearly jumps out of his skin. He turns around to see it’s Josh and glares.

“God, don’t do that. I nearly died,” He says rather dramatically and Josh smiles sheepishly.

“Sorry,” He says and falls into steps with Niall as they walk to the café. “So, was he proposing to you or what?”

Niall visibly shudders.

“ _No_ ,” He says quickly. “In fact, he just wants to be friends.”

Josh snorts at that and Niall stares at him.

“What?”

Josh shrugs. “I just have a hard time believing that.”

“Well, you better,” Niall says, suddenly feeling uncertain himself. He’ll take Whit on his words and if need be, he will not hesitate to remind him.

“Do you need help getting rid of him?” Josh asks off-handedly.

Niall stops up for a second.

“What do you mean?”

Josh stops up as well and gazes at Niall for a moment.

“Do you want him to leave you alone?”

“There’s no need for that,” Niall points out and Josh rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, sure,” Josh says and pushes open the door to the café- “We’ll see about that.”

Niall frowns and follows him. He doesn’t like the sound of that.

+

The next couple of days are spent on focusing on school work and avoiding Jessica like the plague. Everything seems to be going fine until it doesn’t one morning in the cafeteria.

Niall is munching on apple in one hand with his trigonometry book open in his lap as he tries to cram for the quiz that morning. The conversation is merely going around the table and Niall tunes everything out when a shadow falls over his book. He takes a second to look up.

Whit is hovering over him, hands behind his back and mischievous smile on his face. Niall feels a surge of dread.

“Hi Niall,” He says near giddy.

“Uh, hi Whit,” Niall replies warily, glancing around; he can see that people around the table are watching them with interest. Great.

Louis looks especially intrigued and even stops up whispering to Harry to turn around and look.

“What’s up?” Niall asks.

“I have something for you,” Whit says. “Nothing big, don’t worry.”

“Huh?” Niall pales and glances at Josh who gives him an “I said so” look, and Niall tries to communicate a “help” through his eyes alone.

Whit produces a long rectangular box from behind his back. It’s gray and shiny with gold lettering. Niall has an increasing bad feeling about this. Whatever is in that box, Niall is sure it isn’t “just friends” appropriate. In fact, no random gift on a random day is “just friends” appropriate.

Niall glances around once again and catches eyes with Jordan who has just entered the cafeteria. Jordan halts and notices the scene. Niall wants to strangle him when he sees him muffle his laughter. Jordan shoots him a sympathetic look before continuing on to his table.

“Come on, open it,” Whit says excitedly and Niall wants to groan.

“What’s with the hesitation?” Zayn asks from across the table and Niall is beginning to notice that whatever sentence Zayn deems worthy of him, Niall really never likes.

Niall realizes he has no other choice and gingerly takes the box, slowly opening it with a beating heart. Niall gapes upon seeing what is inside.

“Holy shit,” He mutters.

It is a gold, platinum Rolex watch; without doubt, worth a fortune.

Louis whistles.

“Nice, Whit,” He says and Whit glows with the approval.

“What do you think?” He asks almost anxiously. “I was in town with my grandmother when I saw them, and I thought you must have it.”

Niall doesn’t know what to say or do. This isn’t going like he planned.

“It’s… it’s great,” Niall finally says before taking a deep breath and adding, “… but I can’t accept it.”

Whit’s face falls and Louis glares at him from across the table.

“Don’t be rude, Niall,” He reprimands.

He glances around the table and sees that everyone is giving him the same admonishing look. Well, everyone except Josh who just looks highly amused.

Rude. Is he really rude if he gives back this watch that probably can pay for his entire tuition? If he gets him back the money he is wasting on someone who’ll never be interested?

Judging from Louis’ look, then yes.

Niall looks back at Whit who looks so hopeful and happy, and he knows he can’t humiliate him in front of everyone.

So he closes the box and slides it into his backpack.

“Thanks, Whit,” He says with a little forced smile, but Whit doesn’t seem to notice. He just beams and excuses himself. “My pleasure,” He says with a self-satisfied smile and glances over Niall’s shoulder. “Oh! There's Mrs. Solerno. I haven't seen her yet. My grandmother would kill me if I didn't say hello.”

“I'll be right back,” he says and squeezes Niall shoulder before walking off.

“The guy is lost in you,” Louis says and Niall tries not to glare.

This is getting way out of his control.

+

 

Saturday is a gorgeous fall day, with a crisp wind and a sky so blue it looks fake. A perfect day for lacrosse. A perfect day for taking out days of pent-up aggression on unsuspecting Barton School boys. Orange, brown, and yellow leaves dance their crackly dance across the dewy grass as Niall, Louis, Josh and Liam make their way to the visitors’ parking lot where several buses are parked, waiting to whisk away to Barton for their games.

Liam and Josh both play on the football team, and Niall very much looks forward to a good day of sport.

“So, really, I have no idea what to get Danielle for her birthday,” Liam says. “Do you guys have any ideas?”

“Jewelries,” Josh says. “You can never go wrong with jewelries and girls.”

Liam frowns.

“I don’t know,” he mutters. “That’s a little predictable, don’t you think? Besides, she already has so much jewelry already.” He turns to Niall. “Niall, any ideas?”

“Oh,” Niall says a little surprised. “Uhm. You could do something special. Like, make dinner for her? Or a breakfast in bed? Or maybe like a scrapbook of your favorite memories.”

Liam brightens up.

“That’s a great idea! Thanks, Niall!” He says and hugs the smaller boy sideways. Niall smiles pleased. “Glad to help.”

“Oh look, there’s your loverboy,” Louis says and nods ahead. Niall’s heart sinks when he sees Whit, walking their way opposite them. He turns to Josh with wide eyes.

“Help,” He whispers, probably looking quite desperate. Josh looks at him for a second before nodding. “Okay,” He says and then does what Niall expected the least.

He steps forward, cradles his neck and brings their lips together. Niall freezes completely for a second, shocked. Then Josh moves his lips against his and Niall melts into the kiss. He drops his bag and drapes his hand around Josh’s shoulder. He can feel Josh smile against his lips before licking into his mouth, his hand moving up to fist a handful of his hair.

And really, it’s a long time Niall has been kissed like this - so not like Whittaker - and he loses himself for a second.

“Cut it out already,” Louis sharp voice orders and they immediately releases each other.

Niall and Josh stare at each other, not entirely sure what just happened, and Niall feels his heart skip when Josh’s eyes travels down to his lips; the want evident in them.

“Wow,” Liam says in loss of other words as he stares, surprised.

“Joshua,” Louis sneers and Josh looks towards him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Niall looks to where Whit had been approaching them and to his relief; he is nowhere to be found.

“Oh look,” Josh says, avoiding Louis’ burning gaze. “My bus is leaving. Gotta go!” He says before escaping.

Liam laughs a little and shakes his head amused, following him.

Niall is left with Louis and glances at him nervously. He winces when he sees Louis glaring daggers at him.

“Way to ruin everything, new kid,” He says coldly before turning away and stalking off. Niall has a feeling it’s going to be one long bus ride, and what does Louis mean by ruining everything?

+

Later that night, Niall returns to his room, tired and battered, but satisfied; Louis stopped giving him the cold shoulder after the game began, a game they won hugely.

However, he has a mini-heart attack when he walks into his room only to find Jessica and no Conrad. He gulps.

“Jessica?”

She looks up at him with narrowed eyes. She gets to her feet and crosses her arms.

“Finally,” She says. “What’s the status report?”

“Huh?” Niall asks confused. She sighs impatiently.

“On our little project,” Jessica explains annoyed. “Or did our earlier conversation not get through to you? Because I can show you the slide show again right now if you need a refresher.” She brought her laptop and reaches for it.

Niall groans.

“No. That's not necessary,” he says grumpily.He tosses his bag on the ground and kicks off his socks.

“So, have you found anything?”

“No,” Niall replies and wonders where Conrad is when you need him.

Her eyes widens like a doll's. “Nothing? Niall, I'm starting to think you're not one hundred percent invested in this project.”

“They’re my friends,” Niall says, feeling desperate. “I don't want to do this.”

“You have to,” She says, sounding like a petulant five year old.

“Isn't there some other way for you to deal with this?” Niall asks hopefully.

Jessica steps closer and looks him in the eye.

“You don't get it, do you? It's not like I can go up to them and ask them to confess. I say one word and they're going to take whatever loose ends they might still have out there and tie them right up. They're impenetrable unless we can take them by surprise. About the only weakness they have is their overconfidence. They would never even think that you would go behind their backs, which is why you're the perfect weapon.”

Niall stares at her. She has really thought this through. Very thorough. And also very psychotic.

“No. If I'm going to confront them, I need proof,” Jessica says. “And I can't get proof without you.”

“Jessica-”

“Do I need to remind you of where you'll end up if you get kicked out of here?” she asks.

Everything inside of Niall goes cold.

“What do you mean?” He asks dreadfully.

“I looked up your hometown on Google,” she says. “Very quaint. It has its own Chamber of Commerce and everything. Were you guys just so psyched when they opened the new Blimpies last year?”

Niall’s fingers curls into fists and he clenched his teeth together.

“Apparently you have a community college there too,” Jessica says with a snort. “I bet people really go places with that degree.”

“You are seriously deranged,” Niall bits out.

“Wrong again,” Jessica says with a wry smile. “I'm the sane one around here. It's Louis and his satellites who are deranged. Maybe if you did what I told you to do, you'd start figuring that out.” She turns and goes back to her bed, flipping open her laptop. “Or, I could just send this little e-mail. . .”

“No!” Niall blurts, and Jessica pauses, her fingers hovering over the keys. “Don’t.”

He sighs resigned and defeated.

“Fine. I'll do it. But I don't think I'm going to find anything.”

Jessica closes her laptop with a click. “Sure you don't, honey,” she says condescendingly as she walks past him.

“Sure you don't.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to: Katherine.
> 
> Thank you for reading it over! :) x

Niall is hovering in the shadows at the end of the hallway when Louis and Harry walk out together, debating whether Fred Flintstone would leave his wife for Kate Hudson (Louis is con, Harry is pro - what an intellectual debate, Niall thinks sarcastically).

His heart is beating against his ribcage and he is shaking like he is about to meet execution as he waits for them leave. When the two finally go around the corner, he springs forward and quickly slips in their room, closing the door behind him.

His eyes darts around the room (the quite messy room he might add). He feels a little dizzy, not knowing where to begin. He glances at Louis’ end of the room and forces himself to walk over there. He looks at the closet and thinks, ‘The skeletons usually are in the closet, right?’, then decides to begin there.

Niall walks over and places his hands on the two knobs that work the sliding door. He pauses for a second, attempting to listen for noise over his hard breathing and drumming heart. However, all that can be heard is someone taking a shower in a nearby room.

Holding his breath, he slides the closet doors open and peers in. Louis has clothes; _a-fucking-lot_ of clothes. He tries not to get distracted by the thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of designer clothes. He just needs to get over this.

Shoe boxes line the floor and _fuck_ , what does Louis do with all of these shoes? Niall begins to open box after box, unsure of what he is searching for. He finds nothing, nothing but shoe after shoe after shoe as he works his way through the shelves of clothes. He can already feel himself sweating; he is never going to finish this.

He drags Louis’ desk chair over, moving a stack of sweaters aside when his eyes suddenly fall on something. 

“What…” He mumbles to himself. He tenderly takes down the stacks of sweaters then reverently lays them on Louis’ bed. 

Niall steps back up on the chair to have a better look. Shoved into the farthest, darkest corner of Louis’ closet, is a brown box with a small padlock and magazine clippings pasted all over it. Like something out of a serial killer's house.

**Don’t touch**

**Touch and die**

**Seriously, don’t fucking touch it**

Although the warnings, Niall feels himself itching with curiosity. He reaches for the wooden box and pulls it towards him. Among the words and hastily assembled letters were clippings of pictures of farm animals. Pigs and cows, mostly.

What the hell was this thing?

He reaches for the lock, expecting it to be fastened, but it falls right open. Niall’s heart skips a beat. Glancing around in paranoia, he removes the lock and slowly opens the box.

The first thing that catches his eye is a picture of some poor woman's humongous, cellulite-ridden ass in a

flowered bathing suit. The second was the smell of icing.

 _Oh. My. God._

The box is full of snacks: Hostess cupcakes, Twinkies, Oreos, Ding Dongs, Nutter Butters, brownies, coffee cakes, SnoBalls, Milanos. It is sick. ‘If Louis is so worried about eating it, why would he go through all the trouble of creating a box to keep it in -- a box designed to keep him away? Was it some kind of torture?’ Niall wonders.

Before Niall can think further, he notices a small spiral-bound notebook propped flat against the side of the box. He moves some Devil Dogs aside to pull it out. Inside is an entry marked September 9.

Beneath it is a list of every single thing Louis ate that day and the calorie content of that item. At the bottom was written “Twenty Oreos,” and next to it, in a psychotic scrawl, the words _“No, No, No!”_

Niall covered his hands in shock; _poor boy_. He can’t believe that the confident, untouchable golden boy of the school is struggling with such a huge problem. This isn’t an eating disorder, try something like an infectious disease. The following day there is no sugar intake and a smiling face is drawn at the bottom. But every day after that, there are more snacks and more crazy admonishments.

Niall’s image of a flawless Louis slowly shatters to the ground. It seems that the boy isn’t quite as perfect as he likes the world to believe. From Louis’ cool demeanor and the casual way he chooses his food at meals, Niall never would have known.

Niall sympathizes with the boy, but he can’t help but think it’s good to know. In a way, it’s comforting to know someone that’s perfect doesn’t actually exist.

But, of course, this has nothing to do with Jessica’s boyfriend, Leo.

Slowly, he shoves the food diary back where he found it and replaces Louis’ things. The closet search has turned up nothing to help Jessica’s case.

Niall wasn’t sure whether it was a good thing or bad thing.

He has a few more minutes before breakfast is over and the classes start, so he decides to look through Harry’s nightstand. 

Niall pulls open a drawer filled with photographs, postcards, and invitations to charity events. He digs through the popstar’s belongings, doesn’t find anything, then opens the next one. This one is filled with CDs. With a sigh, he searches through the disks as well. 

He is about to continue to the next one, but as he accidentally drops a few CDs, the bottom makes hollow sound. He frowns and begins to remove the hundreds of disks. He inspects the drawer and gasps quietly when he discovers it has a fake bottom.

“What on earth…” Niall mutters as he begins to remove the fake bottom. He is not sure what the young pop sensation is hiding, and is not sure if he is ready to find out.

He isn’t.

He pales when he is met with several Ziplocs filled with small pills in various sizes and colors, and another Ziploc containing a suspicious white powder.

“Oh my _god_ ,” He breathes mortified. There is enough drugs here to supply a whole little town of junkies. 

“Fuck,” Niall runs a shaky hand through his hair as he eyes all the small pills with wide eyes.

He now knows that Harry has a serious fucking problem. ‘All of this can throw him behind bars for _years_ and _ruin_ his reputation. Also, what about all his young fans? What would they think if they found out their idol was some seriously troubled drug-addict?’ Niall contemplates.

This can’t be true. Niall hasn’t once seen Harry on drugs, but what does he know. He also would never have thought Louis has an eating problem.

Louis and Harry are the most popular boys at Prescott, but it seems that underneath their shiny surfaces, there lurks some seriously dark secrets.

Niall is seriously torn. What should he do? What _can_ he do? He wants to help them, but how? It isn’t like he can reveal he knows their secret. He wonders if they know each other’s secret and try to help each other.

He sincerely hopes so.

A door nearby slams shut and Niall nearly jumps out of his skin. He quickly puts everything back and races out of the room.

+

“What is it?” Harry raises a brow at Niall, peering at him over his coffee. Niall flushes, looking down at the crepe he’s been eating.

“Uh, nothing,” He mumbles, chastising himself mentally. He was caught staring at Harry unintentionally, but he can’t help it. He can’t look at Harry the same way ever again, not after what he found this morning.

“You keep looking at me,” Harry says and Niall pins his eyes on his hands in his lap, twisting them together. “If you want something from me then just ask.” The suggestive tone in Harry’s voice make Niall look up and Harry winks at him, making the blush appear again.

“You really blush too easily.” Zayn says from where he is reading some worn-out novel, sporting a pair of hipster glasses.

“He is adorable.” Josh gushes and nuzzles his nose into Niall’s neck, and really, now the blush just won’t leave.

“That’s just the effect I have on people,” Harry says smugly and leans into Zayn’s personal space. “Even on you, your royal highness.” He whispers and licks a long swipe along Zayn’s neck.

“You’re disgusting, Styles.” Zayn says and shoves Harry away, drying his neck with the back of his hand.

“Ouch,” Harry feigns heartbreak. “It’s on my bucket list, Zayn.”

Zayn raises a brow at him.

“What is?”

“To fuck a prince.” Harry replies boldly, and this time, a faint hint of red appears high on Zayn’s cheekbones.

“Fuck off.” He mutters and returns his eyes on his book, and Harry laughs.

Niall is interrupted from observing the amusing interaction by Josh peppering his neck with butterfly kisses. 

“J-Josh!?” He stutters wide-eyed and tries to move away from the boy, but Josh locks an arm around his waist, keeping him close.

“Look over there.” Josh says into his ear, and Niall looks towards the entrance. He swallows a little when he sees Whit entering the café, heading straight to their table.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” Whit greets in his booming voice. Zayn simply nods in acknowledgment, Harry raises his hand with a “sup”, and Niall summons a small smile while Josh’s face is still half-buried in his neck.

Whit takes the empty seat next to Zayn and across from Josh and Niall, eyeing the couple.

“Are you two together?” Whit asks, shocking Niall a little at the forwardness. Niall opens his mouth, but nothing comes out; he’s never been good at lying and he isn’t sure if he wants to lie.

He can see Harry watching them intently now, even Zayn is gazing over the rim of his glasses.

He feels Josh’s hold on him tighten as he lifts his face.

“Yes.” Josh says confidently and Niall tries not to say “ _what_ ” as he just stares at something over Whit’s shoulder.

There’s a beat of silence. Niall glances at Harry and Zayn who are sharing a mysterious look, and then he musters enough courage to look at Whit.

“I admit I am not entirely thrilled,” Whit says and looks directly at Niall. Niall has to look down. “But I wish you both happiness.”

Niall immediately feels bad. Whit is a great guy, just not his type. He hopes he finds someone just as great as him.

“Thanks, man,” Josh replies and squeezes Niall’s side. Niall forces a smile, but can’t get himself to look into Whit’s eye.

“I’ll just go and order myself a coffee,” Whit says and gets to his feet.

Harry and Zayn stare at Niall and Josh.

“What?” Josh asks with a raised brow.

Zayn scoffs and return to his book while Harry rolls his eyes and finishes his coffee before excusing himself to the library.

“Wait, I’m was going there too!” Niall says and untangles himself from Josh. To his utter surprise, Josh pulls him down and kisses him smack on the mouth.

Niall just stares speechlessly at him.

“What was that for?” He finally voices.

“Just wanted to,” Josh says with a smirk and Niall blushes one more time before he turns around and half-runs after Harry.

+

Niall is looking through the books on the high shelves of the library, seeking a book that the popstar alongside him is searching for.

Niall keeps sneaking glances, trying to address the serious issue at hand without letting Harry know that he went through his dresser.

“You’re doing it again.” Harry says without taking his eyes off the books and Niall jumps a little startled, then looks away.

Finally, Niall decides to reveal something about himself that he hasn’t for a long time. He doesn’t want to see Harry die of overdose, go to jail, or fail in life.

“Ah, it’s nothing,” Niall says and frowns a little. “It’s just… my mother.” He says the last part quietly, but Harry stops up what he is doing and glances at Niall.

“Your mother.” He repeats.

“Yeah.” Niall breathes out, his hands tightening around a random book.

There’s a moment of silence.

“What about her?” Harry asks out of curiousity, turning to face Niall, leaning against the rows of books.

Niall hesitates for a second, before sighing.

“She… she has this problem.” He glances up at Harry, and Harry’s eyes prompt him to continue.

“She takes all this medicine that really does more harm than good.” Niall says, his eyes becoming a little vacant. “It’s all these small pills she pops, they’re all over the place.” Niall glances at Harry for any reaction, but Harry looks back at him with an unreadable gaze. “She lashes out at anything and anyone. I just… I wish she would get hold of herself.”

Niall is shaking slightly, because what he told is entirely true and the memories come flooding back. He jolts out of the flashbacks when Harry squeezes his shoulder gently.

He looks up into Harry’s eyes that are soft with sympathy.

“I am sorry to hear that.” He says sincerely. “I don’t know what to say, but at least you are here.”

Niall looks at him, forces a smile and nods.

“You alright?” Harry asks, hand still on his shoulder, and Niall nods again. Harry smiles.

“You can talk to me about it, if you want.” Harry offers and Niall sees his chance. He turns to look Harry dead in the eye.

“You too, Harry.” He says, slowly and clearly. “If you ever have any kind of… problem then you can come to me, yeah?”

Something in Harry’s eyes shift; a shadow falls over his face, but it’s gone the next second. Harry smiles brightly.

“Thanks for the offer.” He says, and Niall shouldn’t really feel disappointed, should he? He can’t expect Harry to open up to him so soon. However, he’ll make sure to keep an eye out for him.

“So you and Josh, huh?” Harry asks nonchalantly, returning to looking through the books.

“Yeah,” Niall says quietly, frowning a little. “It seems so.”

Niall isn’t sure what to do about that, because now he is more or less forced to pretend he is in a relationship with Josh in Whit’s presence. How did he get himself into this mess?

Harry raises a brow at him.

“Is that so?”

Niall looks up and then suddenly, Harry is in his personal space. Startled, Niall stumbles back, hitting the wall behind him. Harry has a few inches on him and towers over him, trapping him between his arms. His pink lips pull up into a wicked grin. Niall gulps.

“H-Harry, what are you doing?” Niall stutters, trying to avoid those gleaming green eyes.

Harry presses a hand to the nape of his neck, his fingers catching the hair there.

“Tell me, Niall,” He speaks into his ear, his breath is scorching. “You agreed to fake a relationship with him. Will you let him fuck you too?”

Niall lets out a sound of embarrassment and tries to move, but it’s impossible without touching Harry, and right now, Niall doesn’t trust himself.

“Makes me wonder,” Harry says, his fingers dancing down his side before catching his waist in an almost bruising grip. “Would you let me fuck you too?”

Niall’s mouth flaps open, no sound coming out. His blush travels both south and north; heavy and hot.

“Does that blush cover all of your little body?” Harry muses, his hand travelling behind Niall’s back. Harry's large hand presses against the small of the blonde’s back, consequently bringing him closer.

“So, what is it going to be, babe?” Harry croons in his ear. “Gonna let me take you hard and nice? Gonna be a good boy and spread your legs for me?”

Niall is beginning to hyperventilate, his breath heavy and abnormal as all kind of vivid images enters his mind and _ohGod_ his jeans are becoming too tight for comfort.

Harry is nibbling his collarbone, his knee parting Niall’s legs. He knocks against the bulge in his pants, causing Niall to let out a breathy whimper.

For a brief second, Niall is one hundred percent sure he would let Harry have his way with him right then and there. However, his thoughts are interrupted when someone clears their throat loudly behind Harry.

Harry immediately releases Niall, who slumps to the floor, unstable on his shaky legs. His heart nearly stops when he sees it is a teacher who is glaring sternly at them.

“What do you think you’re doing?” The teacher sneers.

“Nothing, sir,” Harry smiles charmingly and grabs a book, pointing at it. “We were just searching for a book.”

The teacher looks unconvincingly at Harry before he huffs and walks away muttering about “young people these days.”

Harry turns and looks at Niall.

“Gotta go,” He says with a smirk, making a mock-salute. “See you around.”

And just like that, he leaves Niall high and dry.

+

“Niall!”

Niall’s keeps walking, ducking his head against the wind and pretending he can’t hear. The wind is too strong, he can’t hear, he convinces himself.

“Niall! Niall, I know you can hear me.”

Niall sighs deeply and stops walking, turning to face Jessica. Her curls dance in the wind, making her look like Medusa.

“I know you’ve been avoiding me,” She says, hugging a couple of notebooks to her chest. “And I’ve given you enough time to do your job. So tell me, what have you found?”

“Nothing.” Niall replies. All he’s found is evidence about how deeply disturbed two teenage boys are, but there is no way that he is giving Jessica that piece of information. Although, he has a feeling that she is the only one in the whole school who wouldn’t care. It’s not the kind of information she wants.

Jessica steps closer to him.

“You don’t owe them anything, Niall.” She hisses. “Do what’s right or you know what I am going to do.”

With that, she turns around and strolls off carefree like they had been discussing the weather.

“Bitch.” Niall mutters under his breath before heading for his dorm.

+

Niall is walking towards the elevator when a door suddenly opens and a pair of hands grabs him and pulls him into darkness. He almost screams, but a hand clasps down on his mouth.

“Shh, it’s me.” A familiar voice states, their breath fanning over Niall’s face.

“J-Josh?” Niall whispers confused.

Josh releases him and he hears steps before the light is turned on, allowing Niall to see again. Josh smirks and walks up to him. Niall looks around the theater - yeah, how ridiculous was this place? - complete with at least twenty-five stadium-style seats with cup holders and fat armrests, facing a small movie screen. He turns to look at Josh.

“What are you doing?” He asks, confused.

“This.” Josh replies simply, and then he moves forward, grabs Niall around the waist and pulls him in for a kiss.

_Oh, okay._

First, Niall is taken aback, hesitant, not sure if he should be making out with his fake boyfriend in the theater, but then Josh’s tongue slips into his parted lips, and _what the fuck_ , he is a teenage boy with raging hormones.

Niall falls deeper into Josh’s arm, leaning into him, body pliant and returns Josh’s kiss. They make out for what feels like an eternity when they finally pull apart, panting slightly and Josh smiles at him.

“Let me take you out.” He says suddenly, and Niall’s eyes widen.

“Huh?” He asks dumbly.

Josh chuckles, nibbling his earlobe.

“Let me take you out.” He repeats into his ear and Niall shivers in delight.

“But, why?” He asks confused.

“Because I want to.” Josh admits. “I know this is all a show for Whit and everything, but I’d really like to take you out.” He pulls away to look into Niall’s eyes with pleading ones, and Niall’s mouth goes slack.

He can’t say no.

“Uhm, okay.” Niall finally replies, and Josh beams.

“Super.” He says and kisses him wetly on the lips before pulling away, lacing his fingers through Niall’s and tugging him along.

“Come, my room is empty.” He says, facing Niall with a naughty look in his eyes.

Niall follows him, a little dazed and wonders if he is making all the wrong decisions.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit: Katherine.
> 
> Thanks for giving it extra pair of eyes. x

Compared to Louis’ and Harry’s room, Zayn and Liam’s room is awfully neat and organized. Niall lets his gaze wander over the many books lining Zayn’s wall and the abstract paintings hanging along the room. He walks over to his nightstand where a single framed picture of him and Perrie in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa lies.

The thing is, Niall has a sneaking suspicion that Zayn really doesn’t like him. The black haired boy never speaks to Niall and when he does, it’s either something slightly condescending or he isn’t even looking at him.

Niall isn’t sure where he went wrong.

He sighs and decides to save the prince’s part of the room for later. He moves onto Liam’s side of the room. Liam’s side of the room is quite boring; the same color all over and no pictures whatsoever. The fact that he is so organized is going to be both a disadvantage and an advantage.

He throws a quick glance at the clock. Zayn and Liam are at the library, reading up on a history quiz and Niall should probably be doing the same, but here he is, searching for evidence that they threw innocent Leo out of school.

NialI yanks out a few of his under-the-bed boxes that contain various notebooks and textbooks. As he hastily pulls one of the boxes out, a bundle of loose papers slips. The papers fall all across the room, white sheets scattered everywhere.

Niall’s heart jumps.

“Oh, crap.” He curses under his breath, quickly gathering them up. They must have piled loosely atop one of the boxes. There is no way he is ever going to get them back in the right order.

’Please let them be numbered. Please, please, please.’ He chants frantically in his mind, the panic slowly bubbling up in his chest.

However, as he stacks the pages back up, he realizes it doesn't matter if they are numbered. Each and every page are filled with exactly the same thing -- the same phrase typed over and over and over again.

_I am good enough. I am good enough. I am good enough. I am good enough._

Niall snorts a surprised laugh; he can’t help but instantly feel guilty. Liam is losing it, clearly. Of course, Niall supposes all geniuses are a little off, but this is ridiculous.

There is at least fifty pages of the same thing. He heard that Liam is the smartest boy to walk the halls of Prescott Academy and on top of that, he was captain of the football team _and_ not to forget, he is the well-liked student body president.

Niall can’t quite believe that Liam needs all this affirmation, and when on earth did he find time to sit down and do this?

Hidden snack cakes, secret drug-addictions, and obsessive affirmations.

Maybe it wasn’t such a wonder that those boys are friends, but how do they keep all of this under wraps and appear like kings in everyone else’s eyes?

“Hurry up, Liam!” Zayn’s voice shouts, and Niall has a near heart-attack.

There are footsteps on the stairs.

“I just have to get my planner!” Liam calls back. He is right down the hall.

Shaking violently, Niall shoves the papers back on top of the box and pushes it under the bed. Then the second box and the third box. The third container gets caught on the leg of the bed and Niall scrambles as he tries to jam it back into place. He just manages to get back on his feet when the door flies open.

Niall stands up, straightens his sweater and looks right into Liam’s surprised brown eyes.

“Niall? You scared me.” Liam says, his eyes throwing an almost unnoticeable glance at his bed. “What are you doing in here?”

Niall tries to think fast, which he isn’t good at under pressure.

“I lost the book we are reading in French and I thought I could borrow yours.” He is surprised at how smooth that comes out and summons a shaky smile.

“Oh,” Liam says, stepping uncertainly forward and grabbing a book resting on his desk. “Here.” He says with a small smile as he offers it to him, and Niall takes it with a plastered smile.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” Liam shrugs and grabs what Niall assumes is the forgotten planner. “Hey, you wanna come to the library?”

“Okay,” Niall says. “Let me just grab my book bag.”

“Oh, Niall?” Liam says, pausing as he steps into the hall. He fumbles with his bag and pulls out a neatly typed paper. “You’re good with the classic writers, right?”

“Yeah.” Niall replies surprised.

“Well, I was wondering if you could read this paper over for me.” Liam says, handing it to Niall. “I usually ask Zayn since he is a literature nerd, but I don’t want to bother him tonight. It’s for extra credit and just needs another eye before I hand it in to make sure it’s…good enough.”

Good enough. Good enough, good enough, good enough.

‘Oh my god.’ Niall thinks.

“I'm sure it's great.” He tells Liam firmly. “Everyone's always saying you're the smartest person ever to even go here.”

“That's what they think.” Liam manages a wan smile. “Still, I could use your help.”

“Oh, definitely. I'll read it today,” Niall says, backing away.

“Where are you going?” He asks.

“To my room. To get my bag, remember?” Niall says.

“Oh, right. Okay. See you downstairs!” Liam says brightly. “And Niall? Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Niall jogs back to the safety of his own room, closes the door behind him, and looks at the paper.

‘Poor, poor Liam.’ Niall thinks. ‘What makes him think he needs anyone to tell him his paper is good? Poor Louis and poor Harry too.’

He is afraid of what Zayn, the Royal Prince with the perfect face, might be hiding.

+

The next morning, Niall gets the chance to snoop in Zayn’s things. This time, he goes for

the closet first and straight for the top shelf, since that is where he uncovered Louis’ big secret.

Unfortunately, Zayn's shelves contain nothing scandalous, so he jumps down off the desk chair and drops to the floor.

Tucked back, toward the rear wall, is an old-fashioned trunk. That definitely looks like something that might hold something scandalous. 

Niall pulls it towards himself and opens the lid. Inside are piles and piles of notebooks, copies of the Easton literary magazine, various editions of Poetry magazine and Writer's Weekly, and boxes of pens and pencils. He removes a stack of notebooks and digs through the memorabilia, looking for anything that seems as if it doesn’t belong. There are random pages and scraps covered in Zayn's handwriting, drafts of poems and lines of ideas.

Niall is intrigued. He didn’t know that Zayn was so into writing, but Liam had called him a ‘literature nerd.’ If he had more time and a free pass from Zayn, he might have stopped to read some of it, but that isn’t what he is here for.

Unfortunately, it looks as if he hit another dead end. He is about to replace the notebooks when he sees a tiny piece of brown ribbon that seemed to be lodged between the bottom of the trunk and the side. How had that gotten wedged in there? He reaches in and tugs at it, his breath catching in his throat.

Had the bottom of the trunk just moved?

He glances at the outside of the trunk. Sure enough, the “floor” of the inside is about four inches higher than the bottom on the outside. The trunk has a false bottom. ‘What the fuck is with these rich kids and fake bottoms? God.’ Niall thinks to himself.

His heart is pounding wildly in his chest as he wonders what he might find in there. He knows this is dangerous. There was a ton of crap in the trunk and it will take him a while to replace it all. He needs to see what is in the bottom of this trunk though. If Zayn is hiding something, he has done a much better job of hiding it than his friends has.

Once the trunk is clear, Niall grabs the ribbon and pulls. The entire floor of the trunk pulls free. Sitting underneath it is a sleek black laptop.

He turns and looks over his shoulder. Zayn has a Mac all set up on his desk. ‘Why would a high school student need a second, secret computer?’ Niall wonders.

He takes the computer out and rests it in his lap. He pops the top and hits the power button, just praying no one would walk in. It takes the computer a few agonizing seconds to power up.

What is on this thing? Was it the proof Jessica is looking for? Had Zayn and the others actually plotted to get Leo thrown out of school? It is clear that Zayn, at least, has something worth hiding.

These are pretty elaborate measures for simply hiding a laptop to keep it from getting stolen. Especially when everyone at this school can buy four thousand of them without a worry.

“Come on,” He whispers. “Come on, come on. . . .”

Finally, a black screen appears with a prompt window in the center.

“Welcome, Zayn,” It reads. “Password?”

There is that white box underneath with a flashing cursor, mocking the blonde. There will be no getting past this without a password.

Shit.

He hears a door slam somewhere and he is on his feet in an instant, carefully replacing the computer, the false bottom, and all the contents of the trunk. He shoves it back into the closet, slips out the door, and hurries to his room.

Only once he is inside does he allow himself to breathe normally. He leans back against the door and heaves, his hand over his stomach.

He knows he is on to something. He needs the password to that computer, but _how_?

It doesn’t matter how, he needs to deduce that password. If there is anything to be found, it is on that computer.

Though, he might need help for this one.

+

Niall meets up with Jordan after dinner later that day, and they find a secluded area where they can talk without having to worry about anyone hearing them.

“So, what’s up, Niall?” Jordan asks curiously. “What got you all secretive and stuff?”

Niall takes a deep breath.

“You never gonna believe this, but…”

He tells Jordan all about Jessica’s blackmailing and how he has been snooping in the boy’s room, though he leaves out his findings except for the protected computer.

Jordan whistles once he is done, his eyes wide.

“Wow, you’ve really got yourself fucked over, huh?” He asks. “And that Jessica, she’s a fucking bitch. Who the hell does she think she is?”

“Shhhh.” Niall shushes him before he can upset himself any more. “I need your help, Jordan, I have no idea how to crack that password.”

Jordan grins widely and claps Niall on the shoulder.

“You’ve come to the right man.” He says, straightening up. “For your information, I already have a plan.”

Niall feels the relief flood him and he leans closer into Jordan.

“Please, speak.” He pleads and Jordan leans over as well, half-whispering his plan to Niall. Niall listens intently, his brows furrowing a little in skepticism as he nods at the appropriate times.

He leans back thoughtfully once Jordan is done.

“Are you sure it’s going to work?” He asks anxiously.

Jordan gives him the thumbs up.

“It’s bulletproof.” He assures.

“What’s bulletproof?” A voice says behind Niall, startling him badly. He turns his head to see Josh smiling down at him.

“God, Josh! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Niall chides, holding a hand over his beating heart.

“Hey, babes.” Josh says, swooping down and planting a kiss on Niall’s lips. “I got permission from the headmistress to leave the school Friday night. Gonna show you the city; you still up for it, right?”

Niall looks into Josh’s hopeful eyes and his lips quirk up in a smile.

“Sure.” He turns to see Jordan staring questioningly at them, and he feels himself blush. “Uhm… Josh, this is Jordan. Jordan, Josh.” Niall introduces. Josh gives Jordan a barely-there nod before pecking Niall on the cheek and leaving.

Jordan whistles teasingly.

“Boyfriend?” He asks, and Niall slumps tiredly in the chair.

“It’s complicated.” Niall replies, rubbing his temple.

Complicated, just like the rest of his life.

+

When Niall wakes up the next day, Conrad is already gone. He decides to drop by Jordan’s room and walk with him to school.

He doesn’t reach that far before he hears Louis’ voice around the corner and he automatically stops up. Louis is talking to Josh and Niall can’t help but eavesdrop.

“Why do you want him with Whit anyway, Louis?” He hears Josh’s annoyed voice, and Niall immediately knows it’s about him; now, he can’t do anything but listen in. “If this is one of your sick little games, then leave Niall out of it. He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Louis barks out a laugh; short and dry, without any humor.

“Oh Joshua, if I was playing with him, do you really think you could do anything about it?” He sneers condescendingly. “And let me inform you, I am just trying to help him.”

Niall frowns.

“Help him? By setting him up with Whit?” Josh asks disbelievingly.

“Sometimes, I wonder how you got into this school.” Louis says, and really, was that necessary? “The Legacy is less than a month away.”

Niall perks up. He hadn’t heard anyone mention the Legacy since that faithful night in the woods. He had too much on his mind to think about it too.

“So?” Josh prompts.

“Niall’s only way in is if he’s with Whit.” Louis uses that voice that makes you feel like a five year old that doesn’t get anything. “I hope you realize he can’t get in with you, third-generation.”

‘What the fuck is the Legacy?’ Niall thinks perplexed. He ponders why could he only get in with Whit and what Louis meant by ‘third-generation’. Niall feels dizzy with all the unanswered questions.

There’s a pause.

“I don’t think Niall really cares.” Josh says, and Niall frowns. Well, he does care to know what he doesn’t care about.

“You _think_.” Louis repeats, his voice annoyed.

“He isn’t like us, Louis.” Josh says. “He doesn’t think the things we find important are, in fact, important.”

“Listen, Joshua, that’s just what you like to think.” Louis is speaking quietly now and Niall can barely hear him. “What we want, everyone wants. They just pretend not to want it if they can’t get it.”

Josh then says something Niall can’t hear and Niall realizes they are moving.

He walks a little away and wonders what that was all about.

+

When Niall reaches the breakfast table that morning, a heated discussion is taking place. Louis is obviously on one side and Zayn on the other. It is unclear who the rest are siding with. Niall smiles when Josh waves him over to a seat next to him.

“Hey.” Niall says as he sits down and turns his face to meet Josh’s lips.

“Hey.” Josh replies.

“I don’t get you, Louis.” Zayn says, frowning at Louis. “We just need to make one phone call and we could have a limo waiting for us anywhere in town. Do you want to be uncomfortable for two hours?”

Louis clicks his tongue impatiently.

“Zayn, this party is all about tradition,” Louis gestures with his fork towards the Dubai Prince. “And part of the tradition is to take the train.”

Niall realizes they are talking about the Legacy and he tunes in, interested.

“He’s right.” Harry says, looking up from the phone he is texting on. “The train ride is half the fun. Don’t be so delicate, your royal highness.”

Zayn glares at Harry.

“Yeah, it was so much fun when you got sick all over me last year on the way home.” He sneers sarcastically. “So much fun.”

“Look, the Legacy has been going on for traditions.” Louis says, taking a bite out of a carrot. “Our forefathers took a train to the Legacy and so are we.”

“Since when do you give a crap about forefathers?” Zayn shots back, and really, there’s no one that can talk to Louis like that except Zayn, Liam, and Harry.

“Let’s just calm down and vote about this like civilized human beings.” Liam interrupts and receives a disdainful look from Louis.

“Shove your political shit somewhere else, Li, we are taking the train,” Louis says with a voice of finality.

Niall decides to ask about this because his curiosity is killing him.

He clears his throat and receives the attention of the whole table. He blushes slightly.

“Uhm, what is the Legacy?” He asks, looking around.

A few girls roll their eyes, Harry shares a look with Louis, and Zayn snorts a laugh.

“That’s for us to know, and for you to never found out,” One of the guys, Linh, says, enjoying himself a little too much.

“Huh?” Niall asks, confused.

Harry leans over the table and looks Niall in the eye.

“The Legacy is an exclusive party.” He says, sagely. “Only private school legacies are invited.”

“Oh.” Niall says, a little disappointed.

“Not just legacies,” Louis corrects. “Multiple-generation legacies.”

“The only way to get in is if you are a legacy’s plus-one.” Louis says and glares directly at Josh, who is concentrating on his food. “Only a very few selected ones get to have a plus-one. Your family has to go back to practically the dark ages.”

“Now, where on earth would Niall find a legacy with a plus-one?” Zayn wonders out loud. Niall looks around, waiting for an answer until Louis raises a brow and tilts his head to the side. Niall looks over to see Walt Whittaker having a chat with yet another adult and it hits him.

 _that’s_ was the reason Louis had been so determined to set him up with Whit. Niall looks at Louis again, and the boy lifts his shoulder in a “told you so” gesture. The things he and Zayn had been talking about were entre to exclusive parties.

“There’s no other way?” Niall asks, looking at Louis.

“When do you realize I do things for a reason?” Louis asks. “Not even all of us can get in without help.”

Niall’s eyes widen with surprise, is there really something these kids can’t get?

“What? Really?”

“It’s true,” Liam says. “Zayn can only get in because Perrie is taking him, and Harry is going with Louis.”

“I am obviously not a legacy, barely an American citizens,” Zayn says, apparently seeing Niall’s shocked expression. “Yeah, that’s true, not even a royality can get into this party.”

“And my grandfather went to some public school in Bronx,” Harry says. “Being a popstar does have it perks but isn’t enough to get me into the Legacy.”

“You see? I was trying to help you,” Louis says. “Before you and our lovely Joshua screwed it over.”

Josh might have thought Niall wouldn’t find it important but it was undeniable that he is intrigued. What kind of party can’t pop sensations and princes not get into without help?

He glances at Whittaker, and he knows he wouldn’t hesitate to take him to the Legacy but he is too nice of a guy to be played like that. No kind of party is worth a human being’s emotions.

“It’s fine,” Niall shrugs. “I’ll just stay at home.”

Louis looks at him, clearly taken aback and Josh looks at him adoringly.

“That’s my boy,” He says proudly and squeezes his hand under the table, making Niall blush.

“Are you sure?” Louis asks with narrowed eyes.

“Yeah,” Niall says. “I am not going to play Whit for some party.”

“Some party,” Louis repeats and looks offended, and Niall realizes his mistake.

“Suit yourself,” He says and returns to his breakfast.

Niall has a feeling he is falling out of Louis’ good graces, and with his current circumstances, that’s the last thing he needs.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Cerrina for proof-reading it. I skimmed it and if there's any mistakes, then we're both human.

Chapter 7

After two mornings of typing in everything Niall knows about Zayn - which he might point out isn’t much to begin with - to crack the password on the computer, and getting nowhere, he is at a complete loss.

He knows he has to give Jordan’s plan a try, but he has never been a good actor and he is terrified that it’ll end in a disaster; Louis and the other boys finding out he snooped in their room.

He is very nervous as he walks into the library one rainy afternoon, not quite ready to execute his plan but not having more time to waste. He knows that the senior class has a huge English test coming up and half of privilege house residences will be here studying. He makes a beeline for the very back of the stack, where he knows the girls and boys from his dorm sets up.

And true enough, he finds a table containing Louis, Liam, Conrad, Danielle, Linh, Jeremy and a girl named Amanda. They are all bent over their books, some taking notes, other whispering to each other in low tones. There is a single empty chair at the end of the table.

Niall sinks to it, dropping his books on the table with a frustrated huff.

Everyone looks up at him at once, happy for a distraction.

“What’s the matter, Niall?” Liam asks.

“Nothing. It's just this current events paper for modern civ,” he says. “I have to write eight pages on that whole hacking scandal.”

Louis and Liam exchange a look. They aren't buying it. There is no way they are buying it. And why will they? It is a complete fabrication.

“You mean that thing at that high school in New York?” Conrad asks.

“I heard about that!” Amanda puts in, excited. “Someone hacked into all the students' computers and posted a list of all the illicit Web sites they were looking at. So scandalous.”

“Those poor bastards had all their porn deleted,” Linh says. “That's not scandal. It's a crying shame.”

“Well, there are about a million articles on it and it's ridiculous trying to sift through it all,” Niall says, lifting out a Xeroxed page. “Plus it's scary. Did you guys know that ninety percent of high school students use something obvious for their password? Like a girlfriend's name or a birthday?”

Everyone just stares at him and he wonders if he is the worst actor ever.

“I would never use something that lame,” Jeremy says.

“Yeah. You just spell curse words backward,” Linh says with a laugh.

“Dude!” Jeremy complains, whacking him with the back of his hand.

“I would never use anything that obvious,” Danielle says, turning the page in her English book. I just use random characters.”

So not what Niall wants to hear. If Zayn is using random characters, he is screwed.

“How do you remember them?” Amanda asks.

“I just force myself,” Danielle says. “I repeat it over and over until it's in there. Four, dash, dollar sign, eight, /, star. Four, dash, dollar sign, eight,/, star.”

“Nice one! Now we all know your password!” Jinh laughs.

Danielle blushes.

“Well, that's not my password now.”

“'Yes, it is! Yes, it is!“ Amanda thrills, bouncing up and down in her chair, her long earrings slapping her in the face. ”We know your password! We know your password!"

“Oh, yeah? Repeat it back to me,” Danielle says flatly.

Amanda clears her throat and looks at the ceiling. “Four, dash, dollop of. . . A. .. J ...” Everyone laughs and Amanda looses steam, slumping. “Crap.”

“It's okay,” Linh says, patting her back. “It's not like Dani has anything good on her computer.”

Danielle shoots Linh a bite me look and gets back to studying.

“Personally, I always use song titles,” Louis voices, shrugging lightly and looking at Niall.“I think a lot of people do that. Like book titles or movie titles or poems ... CDs--”

Titles. That sounds like something Zayn might do. Niall makes a surreptitious note in the margin of the Xeroxed article.

"You know, Niall, I read somewhere that some huge percentage of people actually write down their password and keep it somewhere close to their computer,“ Liam says. ”They jot it down on a special day in the calendar or something. You know, just in case they ever forget it."

“Really?” Niall says, intrigued.

“Yeah. I bet I could find the article if you want me to,” Liam says, smiling helpfully. “I save everything.”

Like Niall doesn’t know that already. Of course, Liam had no way of knowing how much time Niall spent under his bed.

“Don't worry about the paper too much,” Louis says, returning to his own work. “Mr. Kline has a very lax grading system.”

“There's a theory going around that he only reads the first page of everything anyway,” Conrad says.

“That's good news,” Niall breathes, feigning relief.

Everyone returns to their books and he realizes that the conversation is closed. There is no way to open it again without looking completely obvious. But at least they gave him a few places to start. Now all he had to do was put these new theories to the test.

+

Niall should be studying for his French quiz. He should be taking notes for his history test. He should be reading Beowulf. Instead he is at Conrad's desk with the Prescott Academy website open on his computer, bent over a notebook, brainstorming potential passwords for Zayn's computer.

Taking a clue from Louis, he started scouring old issues of the Prescott literary magazine, the Quill, online. If Zayn's password is in fact a title, then he figures it might be the title of one of his very own poems. Unfortunately he has published at least three and sometimes as many as seven poems in each and every issue of the Quill, going back to his freshman year. Niall’s list of poem titles already filled an entire page.

Niall sighs and closes the window containing last year's final Quill issue and double clicked on the latest one--published only last month. I knew that Zayn has at least five poems tucked inside its pages. He opens the table-of-contents page and jots down the titles:

__

“Transparency”

“Endless Fall”

“The Other”

“Scarecrow”

“The Dark Age”

What a very lighthearted and carefree prince, Zayn is.

Suddenly the door to his room opens, sending his heart into unhealthy spasms. It only gets worse when no other than Zayn saunters inside. _And what on earth happened to knocking?_

He slaps his notebook closed and reaches for the laptop's screen, but realizes it will look far too suspicious.

Zayn looks around the room, before his eyes rest on Niall: beautiful and bored, really, the only gaze Niall is graced with.

“Where is Conrad?” Zayn asks, walking over and looking over Niall’s shoulder. Niall blushes at the proximity, and Zayn smells like heaven. “You using Conrad’s computer?”

“Uhm y-yea,” Niall stutters for reasons he isn’t sure of. “He left a little while ago.”

“I see,” Zayn says behind him, his warm breath tickling Niall’s neck. “You’re reading the Quill,” Zayn says surprised. “Are you getting any ideas?”

Niall’s heart all but stops.

“W-what?” He squeaks in an unnaturally high voice. “Ideas, for what?”

Zayn moves next to him and looks at him. Niall stares stiffly forward.

“Ideas for your writing, of course,” Zayn clarifies. “I’ve heard you’re a big reader. I wondered if you might be a writer as well.”

All blood rushes to Niall’s face; _right_ , of course Zayn doesn’t know what he’s really doing. How can he?

“I am a writer. I'm actually thinking about joining. You know, the Quill.” Niall lies smoothly, and isn’t sure whether it’s a good thing he is becoming so good at lying or not.

Zayn looks at Niall interested for the first time, studying him with his dark eyes.

“Oh yeah? What do you write?” He asks and half-sits on the desk, peering down at Niall.

Niall reaches over and clicks the laptop closed, mostly to stall for time. He hasn’t written anything creatively since first grade, when he wrote a short story titled “Animal-Crackers” that was universally panned by all the six-year-olds in his class.

“Uh . . . essays, mostly,” He says. “But lately I haven't really had much time.”

“Been busy?” Zayn asks, and Niall summons a smile.

“Yeah,” He says, _you know, being blackmailed, keeping up a fake relationship and snooping around in your rooms and finding fucked up shit, just the usual._ he adds mentally.

Zayn studies him for a moment, and Niall feels hot under his scrutinizing gaze.

“I’ll just leave you now, doing whatever you were doing,” Zayn straightens up and levels Niall with another mysterious look, before leaving.

+

“It’s going to rain,” Zayn says, his dark eyes on the sky. “Better hurry.”

Niall wraps his scarf tighter around his neck and scurries down the library stairs after him.

The last hour was spent listening to Zayn and his fellow Quill editors discuss the merits and flaws of various submissions for the latest issue. Since, in Niall’s moment of panic, he expressed an interest, Zayn invited him to come along and see what it is like. Now, having listened to these pretentious people tearing apart one another's work, he can sum it up in three words:

Not for him.

Still, Niall is touched that Zayn asked him. Really, if anything, Zayn has pretended Niall doesn’t exist for the last few weeks. It means that he thinks he is worthy of sharing one of his favorite things. If only he knew that whenever he started scribbling in his notebook during the meeting he wasn’t taking notes on the poems but jotting down new ideas for his password.

That morning, while he was supposed to be cramming for his French quiz, he searched Zayn's room for a calendar or a date book, hoping to put Liam's theory to the test, but found nothing.

If Zayn has a planner, he keeps it with him at all times. After that failure, he spent half an hour rapidly typing in every potential keyword he could come up with, flinching at every creak of the floor and every chirp of a bird outside the window. None of them worked. Now he is on a mission.

He spent too much of his time on this already. He has to crack that password, if only to be able to tell himself that he succeeded.

So he has spent most of his classes brainstorming more and more potential passwords and writing them down in his trusty notebook. At this rate he is going to flunk out of school, but at least he will know whether or not the boys had gotten Leo Shore thrown out. Yeah. It would all be worth it.

Ha.

“So, what did you think?” Zayn asks him as they speed-walk along the cobbled paths. “Did you enjoy it?”

“It was interesting,” Niall replies in a noncommittal tone. “I don't know if I feel comfortable tearing apart people's poems, though.”

Zayn glances at him from the corner of his eye.

“Why?” He asks.

“Well, those are their most personal thoughts and feelings. It has to take a lot to put that out there,” Niall says. “And you guys just sat there throwing out words like pathetic and pedestrian and cliche. That one girl was on the staff and you said she had no original thought. Right in front of her.” Niall really feels bad for that poor girl, she looked like she would burst out in tears any given minute.

“It isn’t easy,” Zayn says. “But if you're going to put something on a page and ask people to read it, you have to be able to handle the criticism.”

“I guess,” Niall says as they reach the front door to privilege. “It just seemed mean.”

Zayn stops and stares at the door. The sky chose that moment to open up. A fat raindrop plopped right in the middle of Niall’s forehead.

“If you can't handle it then maybe you shouldn't come back,” Zayn’s voice is rather harsh as he places a hand on the door handle and grips hard enough for his knuckles to turn white.

Niall eyes him nervously.

“I never said I couldn't handle it,” he tells. “I just--”

“No. You don't have the stomach for it,” Zayn says, looking him in the eye. “I don’t care but I really can’t stand when people pretend they are something they are not. It’s a waste of my time and yours.”

Niall feels like Zayn might as well have slapped him. He opens his mouth shocked and stares at Zayn who looks coldly back at Niall.

“What-“

“You pretend you’re better than everyone else here,” Zayn says quietly, his eyes slightly narrowed. “The thing is, you aren’t better. You just don’t fit in here.”

Whoa. Okay. Where did that come from?

Zayn’s whips open the door to Privilege house and strides inside, leaving Niall standing there, feeling at an utter lost.

Well, at least he has confirmed that Zayn hates his guts. But _why_?

He didn’t even give him a chance to know him. Niall grits his teeth as anger seared through him; God, he is so fed up with Zayn’s pricky attitude towards him, and he decides to let him know just as much.

“Zayn!” Niall shouts as he enters the hallway as well and just managed to see him slip into the theater room. Niall frowns. What is he doing? He loosens his scarf and follows him, opening the theater room.

He is met with the smell of popcorn and he looks in, confused.

Inside is what seems like half the dorm, and what looks like the latest Iron man movie running on the screen; wait a minute, the latest Iron man movie hadn’t even premiered yet. Where did they get the movie from?

“Hey Niall,” Liam waves to him with a smile, Danielle snuggled to his side. Louis nods to him as greeting and Harry winks. Josh waves him over to him where there is a seat next to him.

Niall thinks this is a great opportunity to work on Zayn’s password but he is currently so annoyed with the boy that he might break something of his in the process; he needs to let some steam off. He closes the door behind him and makes his way to Josh. On the way, he catches eye with Zayn sitting with his blonde girlfriend and Zayn just gives him an indifferent look.

Jerk.

Niall more than happily falls into Josh’s arm, soaking in his warmth, smiling when Josh kisses his earlobe. “Hey, babe,” Josh greets and Niall replies by softly kissing him on the mouth. He fails muffling a giggle when Josh kisses his neck.

“Would you two mind?

God, it’s official.

Niall hates Zayn Malik.

+

“I am getting impatient.”

Niall heaves a life-tired sigh and looks up from the book they’re reading in English; a book he is very well behind because of the girl standing before him. Niall wants to stab her with a fork, but he figures it wouldn’t help his case.

“Did you find anything,” Jessica asks, sitting down in front of him on the table in the café. Niall inhales the smell of new-baked bread and coffee and wonders if she’ll go away if he ignored her long enough.

Probably not.

“I asked you if you found something.”

Let’s see: a refinery worth of sugar, drugs worth long-life in jail, evidence of serious psychological self-abuse and a secret hidden computer protected by a password.

“Nothing,” he replies and returns to his book, pretending to read when he is in reality, just repeating the same line over and over again in his head.

“You can’t be serious,” Jessica says, and Niall looks up at her. She is glaring daggers at him.

Niall would have told her about the computer if it would let her off his back for a moment, but something tells him it’ll just make her turn the screws tighter. And they are already pretty tight. Thank you.

“I am,” Niall replies blankly. “This is Louis we’re talking about. If he has some evidence then it’s seriously well-hidden. You have to be patient.”

Jessica seems a little appeased by that logic.

The doors to the café open and Louis along with Liam and Harry walk in. Jessica’s eyes narrows and she gathers her things.

“Do it faster,” She says before heading the opposite direction of where the boys are coming from.

Niall sighs in relief.

“What was that all about?” Louis says, sitting down. “Since when do you hang with Jessica -I am above everyone- Hardison?”

Niall looks at him amused. He hopes Louis does realize that those words are the ones more than half the school would use to describe him.

Louis takes a sip of his coffee and looks at Niall, expecting a reply.

“Oh, she was just asking for notes in History,” he lies and concentrate on his book, hoping Louis can’t see right through him.

“I see,” Louis replies simply before averting his attention somewhere else.

+

Niall is laughing loud and heartily at something Josh said; he isn’t sure what, as Josh’s sleek, silver sport car pulls through the security gates of the school. It is pitch-dark outside and the security guard waves them through without taking his eyes off his small mini-tv.

When they pull into the parking lot, Niall realizes he doesn’t want the night to end. Tonight was a perfect relief from a very, very stressful week. As promised, Josh took him out to see Washington DC and Niall loved every minute of it.

He looks over at Josh who looks back at him with that adoring gaze he’d given him all night. Niall smiles shyly back.

“Thanks for taking me out,” He says quietly.

“My pleasure,” Josh replies and leans closer; Niall meets him half-way. Their lips meet in a soft and gentle kiss before pulling away.

Niall smiles and gets out of the car, Josh following him. Josh walks around the car and looks at Niall with an intense gaze, and Niall looks back, waiting for him to make his move.

He isn’t disappointed.

Josh pushes him up against the car, sealing their lips in a kiss that is anything but gentle. Niall’s hands move up and fisting Josh’s shirt, he pulls him impossibly closer.

Josh slides his tongue across his bottom lip, his fingers skittering down his sides and Niall shivers, opening his mouth in invitation. Josh’s tongue plunges into the depth of his mouth, mapping out the inside, licking into it before returning and entangling with Niall’s tongue in a wet mess.

They break for air, and Josh moves down, scattering kisses down his jaw line, nipping at his neck. Niall throws his head back slightly, a small moan escaping his red, parted lips. He shudders when Josh’s slightly cold hands slips under his shirt.

Wolf-whistles and laughter reminds Josh and Niall where they are.

They break apart and look up where a group of boys is hanging out of a window in one of boys’ dorm.

“Nice show!” One of them shouts, making his friends laugh.

Niall blushes and Josh flips them off.

“Let’s take this inside,” He says, taking Niall’s hand and leading him away.

+

“No, wait…” Niall pants when Josh begins to unbutton his shirt, and Josh breaks his lips from his mouth to look at him.

“What’s wrong? You okay?” He asks.

Niall sighs and sweeps his bangs out of his eye. He likes Josh, really likes him, but he thinks they’re moving a tad too fast. Niall isn’t sure if he is ready to sleep with the guy.

“It’s just…” Niall bites his lips and props himself up on his elbow, looking Josh’s in the eye. “I think we are moving too fast.”

“Oh,” Josh says. “Uh, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to rush you.”

The disappointment is obvious in his eyes and Niall rolls his eyes, sitting upright and he pushes Josh onto his back, crawling on top of him.

“Uhm, Niall, what are you doing?” Josh asks, eyes wide when Niall fumble with his belt and Niall gives him a mischievous grin.

“We can do other things.”

+

A while later, Niall and Josh are kissing lazily on Josh’s bed, both sated for now. Josh pulls away from Niall and brushes his blonde hair from his forehead, looking down at him in a way Niall can’t remember anyone has looked at him before.

He leans down, kisses Niall softly on the lips and then says;

“Niall Horan, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Well, shit.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'ed by: Jay.
> 
> I have proof-read, if there's any mistakes, they're entirely mine.

Tonight, Zayn and Liam are on a double date with their girlfriend’s, a perfect opportunity to try and break Zayn’s password; which is what Niall is in the middle of at the moment.

 

It’s been an hour, and Niall’s neck hurt, his eyes are dry and a headache throbbing in his temple. He glances at the clock, wondering how long they’ll be gone; how long he has left.

 

“Okay, come on, Niall,” He mutters and flips to the next page in Zayn's planner and turns it over on the floor at his side. Liam's theory turned out to be both a boon and a curse. At first Niall thought he would just check Zayn's birthday and see if he had anything written there.

 

 

That is before he realized that he had no idea when Zayn's birthday is. So instead he started to flip through page by page, figuring the special days would be obvious, that he had written Dad's birthday on a certain date, or Parents' anniversary somewhere in there.

 

 

He was wrong. Nothing is obvious in Zayn's planner, other than the fact that he is a doodler. A doodler and a jotter who brainstormed poems and titles in every available space on every available page.

 

 

Yes, there are poem titles on some dates, but there is no way of knowing if the dates holds any significance. So he spent the last hour typing in pretty much every word he found in any given date square.

 

 

Pretty soon, his knuckles are going to seize up. Early onset arthritis. That is where this mission is going to get him.

 

 

Niall takes a deep breath. He just have to keep at it for a few more minutes. Then he will call it a night and maybe do some homework for once.

 

 

He is on April. April fifth has a single word in its square. He takes a deep breath and starts to type.

 

 

Rubber band. R-U-B-B-E-R-B-A-N-D. Enter.

 

 

Invalid password! the screen replies.

 

 

Okay . . . next. Slammed. S-L-A-M-M-E-D. Enter.

 

 

Invalid password!

 

 

Niall groans. he scans the calendar, looking for something even remotely intriguing, and his eyes fell on the last day of April. April 30. In big, red letters is the word home. Then, underneath that, in much smaller letters, the title of one of his more recent poems: “The Other.” That one has been published in last month's Quill.

 

 

He takes a deep breath. His fingers are trembling. Okay. “The Other.” Two words.

 

 

T-H-E [space] O-T-H-E-R. Enter.

 

 

Invalid password!

 

 

Somewhere nearby a door slams. Niall’s heart is in his mouth. He closes the computer and is about to stash it away, but instead he freezes. He freezes and listens. Footsteps. Footsteps coming closer...

 

 

Oh, God, no. He scrambles to put everything back. He almost drops the computer. He is never going to get it all in there in time....

 

 

And then the footsteps passes by the door. They are going downstairs. Niall sits down hard on his butt and breathes. Everything is shaking. He should just bag this.

 

.

Just bag it and start over tomorrow. But when is he ever going to get an opportunity like this again?

 

Slowly, he opens the computer again. He will just try this last one and that will be it.

 

 

Okay. The other. One word.

 

 

T-H-E-O-T-H-E-R. Enter.

 

 

There is a beep. His pulse races. The drive whirs to life, the screen goes black, then came up with a blue sky background and the two sweetest words he has ever seen on a computer screen.

 

 

Welcome, Zayn!

 

 

Holy crap. he is in! Holy mother of-- he has done it!

 

 

He calms himself down taking deep breaths before scrounging in his back and finds the floppy disk he brought along just in case there is anything to copy. He shoves it in the slot on the side of the computer and tries to calm his heart. If it kept pounding that loud, everybody in this building is going to hear it.

 

 

He can’t get caught. Not now.

 

 

There are several file icons on Zayn's desktop, each marked with a year. He clicks open the most recent and there are nothing but Word files inside. Poems. Hundreds of poems. Some with titles he recognizes from the Quill, most with ones he does not. But is one of these an incriminating file in disguise? Is one of these “poems” actually some kind of anti-Leo rant that might prove Zayn wants to hurt her in some way? Who knows? Niall’s heart filled with sick, frustrated desperation.

 

 

He doesn’t not have time to click open and read a hundred or more poems.

 

 

He scrolls down in the window, looking for who knows what. At the very bottom is one single file icon. A file within the file. It was marked “projects.”

 

 

Okay. This can be something. He double clicks. Inside are several more Word documents, each with initials as their titles (it gives him a flashback of Erika’s computer and the guilt instantly follows). EP, CS, IP, NL, TL, IM, and then LS.

 

 

LS. Leo Shore.

 

 

His entire mind goes blank. This is it. A file on Leo. Niall supposes that part of him always thought it is impossible. That Louis and the others could never have gotten someone kicked out of school for no good reason. But here it is. He is about to have the proof.

 

 

Reluctantly salivating, he opens the file. A Word document pops up and filled the screen. At the top, the words Latin Studies. Then, Notes from 8/5. His whole body slumps and he almost laughs. Apparently, Zayn has spent his summer taking classes. In Latin. Studies.

 

Nothing to do with Leo. Zayn is innocent.

 

He takes a breath and closes the document. He listens for footsteps and hears nothing. he decides to check out the other initialed documents, just to satisfy his curiosity, so that he won't have gone through all this for nothing. He opens EP. It was a list of men's names with “yes” or “no” next to each one and a total at the bottom, some kind of RSVP list. Maybe Zayn threw a party of some sort.

 

 

Next up is CS. he opens it and his heart takes a nosedive.

 

 

As I Lay Dying, Faulkner, 1980.

 

 

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston, 1987.

 

 

Invisible Man, Ellison, 1947.

 

 

It is a crib sheet. A list in a tiny font set on 3 x 5 paper. And from the looks of the information, it is a senior English crib sheet. Exactly the class Leo Shore cheated in. And what had the administration used as their damning evidence?

 

 

Crib sheets.

 

 

If these matches the crib sheets that sealed Leo's fate, then it is all true. Jessica isn’t insane, she’s right. Louis and his friends framed Leo. They had gotten him kicked out of school. But why? Just because he annoyed them or something similar? Why not? They got Erika to leave without batting an eye.

 

 

Did these boys find amusement in messing with people’s lives? God.

 

 

Dying to know more now, he opens the file marked IM. Sure enough, a file full of copied IM messages filled the screen. They are mostly between Zayn and Perrie, but there are some between Zayn and Louis. His eyes scans their first messages. They all seem mundane.

 

 

Conversations about homework and parties--nothing out of the ordinary. Then he sees his name and all the air rushes out of him. He stops to read.

 

 

Zayn: so… we are doing this?

 

 

Louis: Definitely! We want niall in and leo out.

 

 

Zayn: not complaining.

 

 

Louis: of course you aren’t. ;) anyway, you have the cribs?

 

 

Zayn: all ready and set. Just tell me where and when.

 

 

Louis: TOMMOROW. We’ll get niall in by the weekend and Leo out. Thank god. I can’t stand that guy.

 

 

Zayn: you’re evil Louis Tomlinson.

 

 

Louis: I know. It keeps me up at night.

 

 

Niall can’t breathe. Can’t move. Can't even save himself if the entire dorm walked in at that very moment.

 

 

They did it for him, to create a place for him in privilege. This all happened because of him.

 

 

Oh. my. god.

 

 

He hears a creak on the stairs and suddenly comes to life. He doesn’t have time to think about this. Quickly he copies all the initialed files onto his disk, just in case there happens to be something more worth reading. he shoves the disk into the back pocket of his jeans, then shut the computer down and replaces everything as he found it. He is just closing the trunk when he hears voices downstairs.

 

 

He shoves the trunk into the back of the closet, closes the doors, grabs his stuff, and fleets.

 

 

Once he is safe inside his rooms, he discovers Conrad has to bed early. Feeling exhausted, Niall falls onto his own bed, his thoughts racing.

 

 

It is his fault Leo was booted.

 

 

His fault Jessica is so upset she is willing to blackmail people and sneak around behind their backs. It is all for him. So that he could live here.

 

 

What the actual fuck.

 

 

It doesn’t make sense. So they bully one girl out of school using him, and throws another boy out to get him in. They are crazy. They’re fucking crazy.

 

 

While Niall feels disgusted - these boys obviously had no consciousness whatsoever - he can’t help but feel a little bit flattered.

 

 

However, there still remains a question? Why did they let him in? because he helped them get Erika bullied out of school? Really?

 

 

And the most important question yet; he now has the evidence Jessica needs, will he give it to her?

 

 

….

 

 

The next morning, Niall is up early while Conrad is still sleeping. He takes a shower, puts on his uniform and grabs his book bag, leaving.

 

 

It is a cool, cloudy morning and he shrugs into his jacket as he hurries across campus, which is as silent as a graveyard. His breath makes steam clouds in the air and he pulls out his phone, dialing a number.

 

 

“Come on, come on,” he mutters under his breath and it’s taken by the fourth ring.

 

 

“lo?” Jordan’s groggy voice sounds from the other end, and Niall feels bad for waking him up but he needs someone to talk to.

 

 

“Jordan? It’s me, Niall. can you meet me in the cafeteria?” He asks as a fallen leaf crunches under his shoe; the sound loud in the eerie silent.

 

 

“Uh? What’s wrong?” Jordan asks sleepily.

 

 

“Just meet me there, please?” Niall says as he pulls open the door to the deserted cafeteria, shrugging off his jacket and heading to the usual table.

 

 

“Eh, sure,” Jordan replies.

 

 

“Thanks,” Niall replies, sliding into a seat.

 

 

Niall orders a huge breakfast that makes the waiter stare at him with awed expression, but he is hungry as hell. The cafeteria is so undisturbed that he can see the individual dust particles dancing in the shaft of the sun coming through the skylights. He watches Jordan walk in, looking very much asleep.

 

 

He dumps in a seat in front of him and rubs the sleep out of his eyes. His hair is sticking out on one side and is matted on the other. He stares at Niall.

 

 

“You alright?”

 

 

“I think so,” Niall sighs and Jordan frowns, raising an inquiring eyebrow.

 

 

“Sup.”

 

 

“So, I got into Zayn’s computer,” Niall reveals and Jordan’s eyes spills wide open, suddenly he is wide awake. He leans in closer to Niall.

 

 

“You for real? You found anything?” He whispers, his eyes darting around even though the cafeteria is empty. Niall looks up as a couple of freshmen enters and he knows they don’t have much time.

 

 

“Yeah, and let’s just say I didn’t find anything good.”

 

 

Jordan eyes are wide with understanding and he whistles lowly.

 

 

“Holy shit.”

 

 

“Exactly.”

 

 

“So, I don’t know what to do?” Niall asks. “Should I tell or not? What is the right thing to do here.”

 

 

“What?” Jordan exclaims and Niall shushes him when a couple of students give them an odd look. “Are you insane? You can’t tell on them! they’ll destroy you in a heartbeat. If those guys ruins people’s academic futures just because they are annoyed what do you think they’ll do to you.”

 

 

Niall gulps and his somewhat dream from a couple of weeks ago with Louis smashing his head in with a baseball bat replays in his minds.

 

 

“But technically, wouldn’t they been thrown out of school?” Niall asks weakly.

 

 

Jordan shakes his head resolutely.

 

 

“Nope. Don’t do it Niall. if you ever want a future that is,” He says gravelly and Niall slumps in his seat with a defeated sigh.

 

 

“It isn't fair though,” He pouts. “They can’t just get away with everything they do.”

 

 

Jordan looks sympathetically at him.

 

 

“Welcome to a world where power is fleeting but is everything,” He replies solemnly and Niall frowns.

 

 

“I don’t like it.”

 

 

“You can’t do much about it,” Jordan shrugs.

 

 

Niall guesses he is right. the world is an unfair place.

 

 

A few moments later, the cafeteria doors open and in strides Louis fully accompanied by Harry, Zayn and Liam. And well, Niall sees it, he sees how each and everyone in the room turn their heads to look at them, a mixture of admire and jealousy shining through their eyes as they follow them with their eyes. He sees how a group of girls blushes and swoon when Louis’ bored gazes slides over them, and he sees how people get out their way. And they walk in like they own the place, and well, Niall guess they kind of do.

 

….

 

 

Later that evening, Niall walks through the top floor of privilege house with a determination he hasn’t felt in a while. He is sure nothing can stop him (not even if he once again walks into Harry half-naked).

 

 

He stops in front of Harry and Louis’ room and knock twice, opening the door without waiting for response. “Louis, we need-“ he stops mid-sentence when he walks into the room with everyone present: Louis, Harry, Zayn and Liam.

 

 

They’re all in the middle of dressing up, and Niall feels the blush hit his face as his eyes darts over the half-naked boys in the room; he is in heaven.

 

 

Liam is shirtless; his no less than perfect upper body on display and Niall shamelessly lets his eyes rake over his toned chest and stomach, imagining feeling it under his fingertips. (and oh my god, why is Liam straight again?) Harry is of course, completely nude, safe a small pair of Calvin Klein boxers, busy holding two shirts up, presumably trying to figure out which to wear; and really, all Niall wants to is tear that flimsy piece of article of and throw himself at him. Zayn is in the exact same state, fixing his hair in the mirror - Niall knows he is going to faint like a girl soon, and shit is Louis actually checking out his bum in the mirror?

 

 

He is going to short-circuit and fuck, was his trousers always so uncomfortable? As they look up at once, he quickly turns around to hide the growing bulge in his pants and unmistakable hungry look in his eyes.

 

 

“Niall, you alright?” He hears Liam’s voice, and he swallows; what did he ever do to deserve this life?

 

 

“Oh, there you are,” Louis says. “I was about to send someone to get you.”

 

 

“eh?” is Niall’s very charming reply and he wants to bang his head against the door.

 

 

“What is wrong with you?” Louis asks, but Niall can hear the amusement in his voice.

 

 

Niall breathes in, closes his eyes and forces himself to act like a normal human being and not a hormonal-crazed, horny teenage boy (which he kind of is, he guess.)

 

 

He turns around and forces himself to keep eye-contact with Louis.

 

 

“Nothing,” He replies in a raspy voice and wants to tear off that all-knowing smirk off Louis’ pretty face.

 

 

“Anyway,” he says and walks over to his closet; Niall can feel the secret box’s presence as if it has been dipped in radioactive waste; mocking him, reminding him of what he knows. He can’t help but sneak a peek at Louis’ half-naked body and he can’t understand what the problem is; he has a gorgeous body. “This is for you, I guessed your size,” Louis fishes out a black tuxedo in a clear bag.

 

 

“What?” Niall asks confused as Louis hands him the bag. He looks around and realizes they are all in the middle of dressing up in black tuxedos; where were they going?

 

 

Louis looks a little surprised.

 

 

“Zayn didn’t tell you about the Nobash?” Louis cast a sidelong glance at Zayn who pretends he can’t hear as he puts the finishes touches to his perfectly styled hair.

 

 

Niall stares a little too long at Zayn’s naked back before shaking himself out of it.

 

 

“The what now?” He asks, looking at Louis puzzled.

 

 

“The Nobash,” Harry repeats buttoning up his ruffled shirt. “It’s this huge event held at the UAE ambassade.”

 

 

“United Arab Emirates,” Liam supplies helpfully, finally covering that damn perfect chest up with a crisp white shirt.

 

"Dignitaries from around the world, crazy paparazzi, high--security metal detectors ever since that dude from Brazil managed to sneak in that scary collapsible sword thingy," Louis says as he works on a pair of pants. "Blah, blah, blah."

 

“Uhm, okay?” Niall says, still confused.

 

 

“My family throws it,” Zayn says, meeting Niall’s eyes in the mirror. “Everyone wants to go, but not everyone gets to.” The pointy look he punctuates with that sentence makes the heat rise in Niall’s cheeks.

 

 

“But of course, Niall is coming,” Louis says and throws Zayn a look Niall can’t decipher, before turning to Niall. “Now go and clean up.”

 

 

Niall hesitates. This isn’t what he came for, the situation had totally gotten out of his hands. As if reading his mind, Louis studies him.

 

 

“What is it? Did you have something to say?”

 

 

It is oh so tempting to say no, to turn around, to go to this intriguing event and pretend he never found the things he did. But he can’t.

 

 

He sighs and gingerly puts the tuxedo over a chair.

 

 

“Yes, I have something to say,” He says and gains everyone’s attention as he reaches into his back pocket. “There’s something I need to confess.”

 

 

Now, he really got their attention and Zayn even stops admiring his beautiful face to turn around and face Niall; though his undressed state is quite distracting (damn it, focus Niall! he screams in his mind when his eyes slides down his body)

 

 

He finally finds the usb-stick in his pocket and closes his hand around it, pulling it out. He takes a deep breath and runs his fingers through his hair.

 

 

“Where to start?” He says.

 

 

“The beginning would be good,” Zayn voices sarcastically and when Niall glares, he returns it with a satisfied smirk.

 

 

“Right, okay, ehm, remember that night out in the woods? At the end of parents’ week? The night I met Whit?”

 

 

They all exchange glances at this before looking at him and nodding simultaneously.

 

 

“Well… that night, Jessica took some pictures of me and Whit,” He says, feeling his face heat up.

 

 

“What kind of pictures?” Zayn asked, obviously enjoying Niall’s discomfort and Niall wants to stab him with a fork.

 

 

“…Of me and Whit… doing things,” He says, looking down in embarrassment.

 

 

“What kind of things?” Harry asks, clearly interested and Oh.My.God, was he being serious.

 

 

Louis gives Harry a disapproving look before nodding towards Niall.

 

 

“Okay, and?”

 

 

“Well, she showed me the pictures and threatened to send it to the dean and have me kicked out….unless…unless,” they were going to kill him, Niall is sure, he chances a look in Louis direction. Louis’ face is unreadable.

 

 

“Unless?” Liam prompts, looking worried.

 

 

Here goes everything.

 

 

“Unless I spied on you guys,” Niall blurts finally, his heart on a rampage in his chest. “Well, not spied, but you know, snooped around your stuff. She wanted evidence that you kicked Leo out of school.”

 

 

Niall breathes superficially as he waits for the explosion. He waits. And waits. But nothing happens. He looks up, gauging their reactions and is taken aback. A slow smirk is spreading across Louis’ face, Harry is playing with a curl, a lopsided smile on his lips, Liam isn’t meeting Niall’s gaze, playing with a button of his shirt and Zayn, Zayn looks surprised.

 

 

What the fuck?

 

 

Where are the glares? The disapproval? Where is that damn baseball bat?

 

 

“And did you?” Louis finally asks after what feels like centuries of silence.

 

 

Their eyes are intense as they all look at him.

 

 

“Snoop or find proof?”

 

 

“Both,” Zayn says.

 

 

Niall’s head automatically bowed in shame.

 

 

“Yes. I did. I found something but I haven’t done anything with it. I swear.”

 

 

Niall holds up the usb-stick and places it on Louis’ desk.

 

 

“Everything I found is on there.”

 

 

Niall is beginning to freak out, because they are still not saying anything. Louis and Zayn are sharing an unreadable look. This is torture of the most brutal kind.

 

 

“So, what happens now?”

 

do you kill me? Boot me off school? Just saying something, goddamn it

 

Louis sighs and grabs a shirt hanging in his closet.

 

 

“Nothing.”

 

 

Niall nearly has whiplash.

 

 

“Huh?” He exclaims. “What do you mean by nothing?”

 

 

Don’t they realize he is dying over here? How hard this is for him? what big trouble he is in for even telling them this?

 

 

“I am coming to get kicked out by Jessica,” He says, frustrated. Louis walks over, takes the tuxedo and hands it back to Niall. He grabs Niall’s face between his hands and looks him in the eye.

 

 

“Stop whining, love, it doesn’t suit you,” He says, clapping him on the cheek. Niall stares. “You aren’t going anywhere other than this event with us. Now, be a good boy and go clean up, yeah?”

 

 

“But-“

 

 

“Shhh,” Louis places a finger on Niall’s lips, and Niall really wishes he could stop standing so close; so close, that Niall can smell his fresh, heavenly cologne. “We’ll talk about this later. Now, go.”

 

 

“Louis-“

 

 

Niall stops himself when Louis eyes clouds with impatience and he thinks he might as well run with his luck while he still can.

 

 

“Uh, okay,” He mutters, taking the tuxedo and flees.

 

 

Niall is in his room, struggling with his damn bow-tie when his doors open and Zayn’s face peeks in. Niall looks over nervously.

 

 

“What is taking you so long?” Zayn asks, stepping into the room. “Everyone is waiting.”

 

 

“Oh, sorry,” Niall says and glances down at his failure of doing the bow-tie. Zayn follows his eyes and rolls his eyes.

 

 

“Oh my god, are you serious?” He sighs, but walks over and swats Niall’s hand away. Niall doesn’t protest and tries not to get overwhelmed by how good Zayn looks all groomed or how good he smells or how close he is.

 

 

Zayn does his bowtie in an impressing speed, nodding satisfied when he is done.

 

 

“There,” He says and Niall turns around to see himself in the mirror. And he must admit, he doesn’t look half bad. He is a little startled when Zayn walks around him and rests his chin on his shoulder, catching his eyes in the mirror.

 

 

“You clean up well,” He says, his breath feels scorching against Niall’s skin. “Lookin’ good.”

 

 

Zayn’s fingers skitters along Niall’s side, Niall freezes not entirely sure what’s going on, Zayn keeps eye-contact; his gaze dark and intense. The whole air in the room seems to shift for a second to heavy and loaded.

 

 

And then, Zayn steps away and just like that, everything shifts back, having Niall questioning what just happened.

 

 

He is confused as he turns to look at Zayn, but Zayn is already half-way out the door.

 

 

“Come on,” He says. “We don’t got all day.”

 

 

The foyer of privilege house is filled with a dozen of gorgeous and glammed-up students. Niall passively watches as Perrie - looking beautiful in a gorgeous gown - strut up to Zayn, throw her hands around him and kiss him deeply on the lips.

 

 

He isn’t jealous. Not at all.

 

 

“You look incredible.”

 

 

Niall looks up to find Josh looking at him adoringly; looking handsome himself, all groomed and perfect. Niall feels that twist in his stomach he has come to associate with Josh ever since he kind of confessed his feeling a few nights ago. Niall has guiltily tried to avoid him as much as possible ever since.

 

 

The thing is, Niall likes Josh, he really likes him and whatever they had going on is all fun and plays. Well, it is before any complicated feelings are thrown into the mix. Niall should have seen it coming, when he look back at it, it becomes very obvious that Josh has deeper feelings for him. feelings that Niall isn’t sure he can return.

 

 

“Hey,” Josh says and kisses him on the mouth.

 

 

“Hey,” Niall replies as he wonders how he can stop this without any of them getting too hurt.

 

 

Outside is a long line of blank, shining limos waiting to whisk them away and Niall thinks if everything goes wrong tonight, at least he can say he has tried riding in a limo. (that is, if he lives to tell the tale.)

 

 

Niall shares a limousine with Louis, Harry, Danielle, Liam, Zayn, Josh and Perrie. He stares out of the window of the black stretch limousine as it whips past the long, snaking line of luxury cars waiting to be cleared by the Norwegian embassy's security team. Curious partygoers strain their necks to get a glimpse of the car with the UAE flags adorning its front grill, wondering which of Dubai's esteemed dignitaries were inside

 

Imagine what they would think if they could see inside and spot Harry Styles downing a thick, dark Guinness from a can while Louis and Danielle cheer him on while Liam looks slightly worried and Zayn, the beloved prince of Dubai, curled into a corner, shamelessly making out with his girlfriend, once in a while coming up for air to threaten Harry with death if he spills any on him. Josh is sitting next, his fingers threaded through his, occasionally kissing the top of Niall’s head in a way that just makes everything harder

 

"Ah. That's the stuff," Harry says, lifting the larger--than--usual--size beer can over his head. "Thanks to the good people of Ireland for that."

 

Then he belches. Long and loud.

 

 

"Ah, the things you've learned on your world travels," Danielle intones jokingly.

 

 

"Yeah, maybe on next year's tour you could, I don't know, take in a museum or two," Perrie jokes.

 

 

"If they'll pay me to sing, I'm in," Harry replies.

 

 

"You're such a fame whore, Harold" Louis says, looking slightly approved all while looking at Harry with a fond look.

 

"Ah, but that's why you love me, babe,” Harry replies, leaning and sloppily kissing Louis cheeks. And wait just a minute, is that a blush on Louis’ cheeks? Niall can’t help but stare. Louis catches Harry’s head under his arm and affectionately ruffles his curls. “You’re too full of yourself, little one.”

 

"Looks like we are here,” Zayn announces, looking out of the window.

 

 

Outside, a hundred camera lenses flanking the red carpet turns to face them. Niall can hear the helicopters circling overhead, and sees at least a half--dozen uniformed guards stationed along the front lines of the crowd. A red carpet leads up to the front door of the mansion that is the embassy, and the whole facade glittered with light.

 

 

Niall gulps nervously, feeling himself pale, and Josh’s squeezes his arm assuringly.

 

 

"Go ahead, I have to go last, you know the drill,” Zayn says. Perrie is clutching to Zayn, looking a little nervous herself as if just realizing who she is dating.

 

 

"I'm on it," Harry says.

 

 

He flings open the door of the limousine and steps out, his arms raised above his head. Instantly there is a communal gasp, followed by a cheer.

 

 

"Oh my God! Is that Harry Styles?" someone shouts. And suddenly, flashbulbs shattered the night, clicking and blinking and winking like a thousand psychotic fireflies. Harry strolls down the red carpet solo, posing here, chatting with a reporter there. The guy knows exactly how to work a crowd. Niall gawps impressed.

 

As Josh more or less pulls him out of the limo, Niall is sure he is going to trip and make a fool of himself. the others looks in their natural element as they stops for the pictures, plastering on charming smiles. Niall hears the whispers of “Liam Payne” and “Senator’s son” along with “That’s Carole Young’s oldest son- Louis Tomlinson”, and he is reminded of who these boys are; how powerful they are, and how easily they can eliminate him.

 

Niall feels wobbly on his feet as he follows the group through the gate. He looks over his shoulder just in time to see Zayn stepping out, Perrie by his side and the cameras goes crazy. Niall watches Zayn and Perrie smile, pose for the cameras and answers the trillion questions thrown at them, and they look every bit like a royal couple. Every bit perfect.

 

Niall turns away and follows the others into the party.

 

After a few minutes, all Niall needs is to calm his nerves so he grabs a drink from a bypassing waiter and makes his way to the back. He steps into what he presumes is the garden and nearly spills his drink when he sees two people outside, standing in the shadows of a pillar.

 

It isn’t any two people.

 

One is unmistakably Jessica - Niall is surprised she is invited - and another unknown girl. The thing that makes him freeze in shock is Jessica’s tongue searching the other girl’s mouth, her hands in her blonde hair.

 

“Oh my god,” Niall says loudly.

 

The two girls immediately releases each other, turning to face him, and Niall sees the face of the other girl; pretty, smeared red lipstick and chubby cheeks.

 

What the fuck was going on?

 

He turns on his heels to escape, but Jessica stops him.

 

“Niall, please.”

 

Niall stops up in surprise at the unfamiliar pleading tone. He slowly turns around as Jessica adjust her dress and the girl she’d been kissing glares at Niall.

 

“I am sorry, I didn’t meant to, I’ll just,” Niall is about to turn away but Jessica stops him once again.

 

“Don’t,” She says and Niall stops. There is about 100 places he’d rather be but he can’t move.

 

“You can’t tell anyone about this, Niall,” She says, her eyes wide. “I know you hate me, but please. I beg you.”

 

Niall stares speechlessly. Did Jessica- do as I say or die - Hardison just beg him? he had a reason to hate her?

 

“I wont,” Niall says. “I swear.” If he knows anything, is the fear of someone finding out you like the same gender; the fear of disapproval.

 

“But… what’s going on?” He asks utterly confused. Last he checked, Jessica was trying to revenge her boyfriend. What was she doing making out with some other girl.

 

“Tell him, he deserves to know,” The girl says, staring insistently at Jessica. Jessica looks at Niall, hesitating and Niall just looks back confused.

 

“Why did you blackmail me because of Leo when you have a girlfriend?” He asks.

 

Jessica tips her head forward and sighs.

 

“Niall. I wasn’t blackmailing you. Louis was blackmailing me.”

 

Niall shakes his head, trying to process that piece of information.

 

“Excuse me, what?” He asks.

 

Jessica looks him dead in the eye.

 

“They told me to take those pictures, Niall,” She says leaning forward. “They told me to blackmail you.”

 

Niall’s world is just turned upside down.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'ed and Edited by: Mandy.

_Why, why, why, why?_

Why are they doing this?

Niall’s brain searches for an answer but finds none. He realizes that maybe nothing makes sense with these boys- because what would they gain by making him snoop through their rooms? They wanted him to find all their twisted secret stashes? They wanted him to find out they booted Leo? If so then-

_WHY?_

It’s all just a sick game to them; Niall, Jessica and Cassie - as he came to know the girls’ names - are just the pawns. It amuses them- to see how far they can push before they break; it must give them some kind of sick thrill. It is the only explanation. Earlier, when Niall went to confess, they knew all along. Explains their reaction- that _stupid_ , condescending smirk on Louis’ face.

They must have laughed behind his back for days. Watching him sweat, watching how much power they had over him; the more Niall thinks about it, the more he wants to stab someone- more like four someone’s -to be precise. He is livid.

Niall turns around, takes a deep breath and charges through the crowded ball room, weaving through ladies in couture and men in coattails; his eyes set on one, auburn-haired boy standing to the side and chatting with an older, _important_ -looking man.

Without a second thought, Niall unceremoniously cuts into the conversation, grabbing Louis’ elbow in a harsh grip, his nails clawing into the pristine fabric decorating Louis’ arm. Louis stutters to a halt, turning to stare at Niall with a startled expression while the man looks confused.

“Niall, what are you doing?” He demands through clenched teeth paired with a hard glare, but for the first time Louis’ glare has no effect on Niall. He returns the glare with one of his own.

“We need to talk,” Niall answers harshly, his teeth also clenched as he ignores the _important_ man’s appalled expression; Niall barely spares him a glance, to be honest, he couldn’t give less of a fuck about being polite for Louis’ sake.

Louis gives the man an apologetic smile that’s just oozing with charm before turning to Niall with a disdainful glare, the corners of his lips pulling into a sneer, “I am in the middle of something, we can talk later,” Louis says in an attempt to brush him off, removing Niall’s hand from his being. He is about to turn back to his conversation, but Niall will have none of it.

“No, we need to talk,now,” Niall insists, a sick satisfaction sinking into his gut as he takes in the look of outrage on Louis’ face- the boy looks like he wants to smack him.

With an aggravated huff, Louis turns once more to apologize to the man who is still standing there looking a bit curious but annoyed nonetheless, “Excuse me for a second, sir,” Louis smiles at the stranger who nods in return; upon dismissal of the _important_ man, Louis grabs Niall’s upper arm in a bruising grip, pulling him to the side.

“You’re making a scene,” he growls into Niall’s face, his eyes narrowing dangerously; if Niall wasn’t so angry, he probably would have cowered away, but at the moment he’s more than capable of matching Louis bitchy attitude.

“Oh, I can make a _much_ louder, _much_ bigger one,” Niall replies, sounding eerily calm as he locks his eyes with Louis’ cold stare, “but I don’t think you want all of these lovely people to hear what I have to say,” he whispers cryptically, feeling oddly proud of himself as he notices Louis’ glare falter before his face relaxes once again into well-practiced indifference.

Louis takes a moment to study Niall’s face, gauging whether or not the boy is bluffing – which he is, of course - If he begins talking now, he wouldn’t only reveal Jessica’s secret but how big of an idiot he is. Niall isn’t quite ready for that- but Louis has no way of knowing that, now does he?

Niall narrows his eyes as Louis stares back, trying to gain control of the situation but coming up empty handed. The longer they stand there, the more Niall realizes he is winning- he can see the moment Louis caves as his shoulders slump a bit and he closes his eyes tightly in exasperation, “fine,” he grumbles, releasing the death grip he’d had on Niall’s arm. Louis looks around and Niall watches as he makes subtle eye contact with the others - Liam, Harry and Zayn - one by one, having some kind of creepy telepathic conversation with them.

“Come,” Louis demands, eying Niall in that scrutinizing way that makes his skin crawl, “let’s talk.”

 

+

 

“We’re all here,” Louis announces, attempting to sound uninterested as he leans against a huge pillar in one of the alcoves; he dramatically crosses his arms over his chest before his eyes lock on Niall’s once more, “What is it that was _so important_ you couldn’t wait?” he asks, mocking clear in his tone.

The others gather by his side, all of them looking so damn good, and Niall is boiling.

“I know what you did,” he says, standing tall before them, “I know you blackmailed Jessica into blackmailing me.”

Four pairs of eyes blink slowly before looking at each other and then looking back at him. Niall feels even more pissed off by their lack of response.

“Oh wow, you want a medal or something?” Zayn asks with a raised eyebrow, his hands shoved into his pockets.

Niall glares at him, his fingers curling into fists; he reminds himself that punching the Prince of the event probably isn’t the best idea.

“No, you prick,” he spits and enjoys Zayn’s surprised expression; Niall assumes nobody has ever insulted him in his entire royal life, that bastard. “I want to know _why_. Why would you do this? What did you have to gain?”

Louis sighs, glancing to the side, looking downright bored. Harry is eyeing an older lady passing a few meters by, while Zayn is staring blankly at Niall and, really, Liam is the only one who looks the slightest bit guilty. Well. At least one of them has a soul.

“It wasn’t for our gain, it was for _yours_ ,” Zayn reveals and everyone turns with an expectant look towards Niall, as if they’re hoping he’ll just nod in unquestioned understanding and thank them or something.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Niall asks, confusion once again getting the best of him when it comes to the demented boys of Privilege house.

“It means we were testing you and you passed!” Harry announces grandly and pulls out a flask from _onlygodknowswhere_ , holding it in the air with a dimply grin, “This calls for a celebration, anyone?” he asks coyly, his eyes darting around to everyone but ultimately resting on a very frowny looking blonde boy.

Niall shakes his head. “Wait, what? Test me?” he asks, studying each of the boys’ in hopes that they’ll elaborate on a wavelength that Niall’s brain can comprehend.

Harry takes a long swig of the flask, sighing contently, the alcohol still shining bright on his red lips. Zayn is inspecting his hair on a shiny surface - is he for real?

“It was to see if you could be trusted,” Liam says quietly, a cautious smile on his face as he steps closer to Niall before resting his arm over Niall’s shoulder, “and it would seem that you _can_ ,” Liam continues, smiling down at Niall with a sort of pride akin to that a father might have for a son. Well. What the actual fuck?

“What? How? I searched through your rooms; I violated your privacy!” Niall exclaims, not quite understanding how that fact is something that Harry – or any of them for that matter - would find worth celebrating.

Louis lets out a short laugh, shaking his head and shooting Niall an almost fond look, “You’re adorable, have I told you that yet?” he asks, and if anything, his tone is all kinds of patronizing. Niall feels his cheeks burn.

“You didn’t violate anything, love,” Louis drawls. “We planted _everything_ you found.”

Niall feels dizzy as he lightly slumps against the wall, brushing his bangs out of his face, “What?” he mumbles, feeling like a broken record with the amount of times he’s asked Louis that - _whowhatwhenwherewhy_ – he feels like he should be writing a fucking suspense novel.

Louis stares at him, only a hint of amusement left in his voice, “You really think I am a closet-binger?” He asks, sounding offended as he scoffs, “Please. I eat what I want, when I want to.”

Niall stares back speechlessly, still unable to respond.

“It was my idea,” Harry announces, a stupid, proud grin on his face, “Brilliant, yeah?” he asks, not bothering to wait for an answer, since he apparently already thinks so damn highly of himself.

Louis clicks his tongue before lightly placing his palm against Harry’s lower back and leaning in towards Niall as if sharing a secret, “The drugs were my idea; a drugged up popstar, such a beautiful cliché,” Louis chuckles, “Do you really think I would let him become some kind of junkie?” he asks, lifting his chin in the air in disgust.

“Awww, I always knew I could count on you,” Harry coos, slinging an arm around Louis and burying his nose in the elder boy’s neck. Louis pushes him off with a soft smile.

“Liam’s manic diary was my idea,” Zayn interjects, “You have to admit, it was a classic,” he says, a stupid smirk and annoying wink making Niall feel all the more ready to just punch him in his face.

“Yeah, but I had cramps in my fingers for _days_ ,” Liam grumbles, stretching his fingers, doubtlessly having a minor flashback.

“Sorry, babe,” Zayn replies with a shrug of his shoulders and Liam just smiles back at the prince as if saying _all is well_. But, no. All is not well. _Forfucksake_. These people are fucking lunatics.

“Oh my god,” Niall breathes, burying his face in his hands, his fingers tugging at his hair. He tastes bile in his throat. He is going to throw up. This is on a whole new level of sick. What kind of people are these? It must have taken days to execute, and all along they plotted behind his back. They had been messing with him since day fucking _one_.

“We don’t have such petty secrets, Niall,” Louis assures him with another of his charming smiles, “and yes, we are more or less perfect.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner,” Zayn mutters, rolling his eyes. “We almost messed up so many times.”

“True,” Liam is quick to agree, “Like that day you were in my room? I wasn’t supposed to be there, but you were so sweet,” he gives Niall a genuine smile, and Niall almost wants to smile back before biting his lip and remembering Jessica’s words about Liam being _just like the others_. Niall never realized how true those words were until Liam continues, “Everyone says you’re the smartest who goes here” he says, mimicking Niall’s words and Niall wants to slap him. All of them, really.

“Oh, and that day in the library?” Niall is pulled away from his slapping fantasies as Harry’s slow drawl catches his attention, “When you were trying to make me talk? _Adorable_ ,” Harry chuckles, a happy smile stretching across his face as he remembers, his eyes softening as they lock on Niall’s, “You’re just too darn adorable for your own good, I tell ya,” he coos, taking another swig of his flask.

“And all the crap about password?” Louis starts up again, alas, he’s never able to shut his trap for long, “We were literally feeding you with information to get into Zayn’s computer,” Louis’ still smiling as Niall gives him a blank stare. Why are they still rubbing it in? Niall’s legs feel like jelly as he stands there, drowning in his own humiliation.

“But my planner must have driven you crazy. Sorry about that, baby,” Zayn says sweetly, but the smirk indicates he’s anything other than sweet. More like the vilest being on the face of the earth, as far as Niall’s concerned. All of them. Vile. Corrupt. Deranged.

Never in his life has Niall felt a moment humiliation quite as intense- it seems to stretch on for a lifetime. They knew the entire time. They led him on. He had been duped.

“Niall,” Louis says, looking him in the eye. “In this world, loyalty and trust are everything. We had to be sure that we could trust you. We had to know if you’d remain loyal even after your whole world was threatened - in other words your enrollment in Prescott. You passed, congrats,” Louis says lightly, shrugging his shoulders as he claps his hands together as if just itching to get out of the hallway and back to _important_ people in the other room.

“Now we can trust you,” Liam smiles happily, “with everything.”

That may be true, Niall thinks, but the thing is, how in God’s name could he ever trust these psychopaths? All that sneaking around- the guilt, the sleepless nights, the fear. All… for absolutely nothing.

Un-fucking-believable.

“I could have gone to the administration with that information,” Niall says, finally unfreezing from the shock that had turned him to ice, “what would you have done then? Weren’t you playing a dangerous game? You could have been thrown out!”

Louis laughs at this and the others join him. Niall feels his ears burn.

“Oh, dear,” Louis smiles at him, the way an adult smiles when a child says something adorable, “They’d need much more to throw us out, that would never be enough. No, there was no danger,” he says, still chuckling because apparently everything Niall says is just oh so fucking stupidly adorable.

“Except for you,” Zayn points out, jabbing his finger against Niall’s shoulder, “If those pictures had gotten out, you would be on a bus back to that little nothing town of yours. Crystalmont, was it?”

Niall leans over, fighting back some serious nausea and tries to suppress the sudden killer intent surging through him; murdering someone wouldn’t help. This is actually fun for them; toying with his emotions like this- messing with his life… threatening his future.

“Nialler,” Liam says turning toward him, and _what did he just call him?_ he closes a strong hand around his shoulder, trying to look at him, his forehead creased with worry. “You alright, mate?” he rubs Niall’s shoulder soothingly. “It’s going to be fine, do you know what this means?”

“It means you guys are evil. It means I’ve aligned myself with the devil’s minions,” Niall replies dryly.

Zayn snorts a laugh, “Don’t be so dramatic, now,” he says, putting his hands up in a mock surrender when Niall glares at him.

“Niall, you’re one of us now,” Louis says and walks up to stand in front of him, peering into his eyes so intensely that Niall nearly feels violated, “It means you’re _in_. You’re in once and for all. No more secrets.”

_No more secrets?_

Something about those three words sends a thrill of excitement through his heart. Even in all his mind-twisting, stomach clenching desperation, he is still psyched at the idea of actually being accepted by these nutcases. What is wrong with him?

He is obviously corrupted. No turning back now.

Niall meets Louis’ eyes, studying the blueness that is so close to his own; he presses his lips in a tight line before releasing a deep sigh, “No more secrets,” he states firmly, refusing to phrase it as a question.

Louis smiles, shaking his head in reassurance, “No more secrets,” he repeats. The three simple words weigh a ton as they linger in the air.

Part of Niall is still angry; part of him always will be. However, he can’t deny that right now, they make him feel special. Like they are his actual friends now… and isn’t that what it’s all about in the end? Loyalty. Loyalty is paramount.

“We okay?” Liam asks, and Niall turns to look into his warm eyes.

“I guess,” Niall relents, slumping forward a bit as the weight of the situation further exhausts him.

Liam beams and pulls him into a warm hug, rubbing his back.

Harry waltzes over and plants two big wet kisses on Niall’s cheeks, winking before he rejoins the _important_ people, while Zayn just holds his gaze for a moment before walking out with Liam- leaving Niall with Louis.

Louis reaches over, ruffles his blonde locks a bit and gives Niall an almost proud look.

“I knew you could do it,” he says with a soft smile that for once doesn’t even look condescending; Niall doesn’t know what to say and looks down, shyly. His eyes are trained on his feet as Louis brushes imaginary dust off of him, eyeing him closely.

“You gonna be alright?” Louis asks, a touch of concern in his voice as he rubs the wrinkles out of his own shirt and pants.

Niall nods mutely.

“Good,” Louis smiles. “Come, I’ll introduce you to a few people.”

Niall doesn’t say anything and lets Louis drag him away.

 

+

 

After Louis has dragged him around, introducing him to senators, ambassadors, congressmen, and other international players, Niall feels a little dizzy; he even met a couple of Princeton Alumni and they gave him their business cards, saying to contact them when time came so they could write him a letter of recommendation. (Niall feels over the moon - can this really be happening?)

He meets Liam’s parents, both politicians - his father a senator, and his mother a congresswomen - both lovely people, though a little tight and serious.

Niall is standing off to the side and sipping on a glass of champagne as he continues to observe the event. His eyes fall on Zayn who is talking with a beautiful woman and as if Zayn can feel the scrutiny of Niall’s stare, he looks up and straight at him. Niall doesn’t look away and they keep eye contact for a moment before Zayn breaks it. He says something to the lady, and they exchange a couple of cheek kisses before Zayn turns around, heading straight for Niall.

Niall keeps his features slightly cold as Zayn stops in front of him; the guy is a douche, prancing around and acting like he is the best thing the world has to offer.

“Hey, why are you standing here alone?” Zayn asks, choosing to ignore Niall’s chilly look.

Niall simply presses his lips together and looks away, ignoring Zayn as he happens to catch sight of Josh across the room. Josh is standing with a couple of Prescott students and is watching him from the corner of his eye.

Zayn heaves a sigh and Niall looks back at him.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” Zayn whispers in a mixture of annoyance and defeat while Niall merely studies him silently, “I know I haven’t exactly been nice. The other day, I shouldn’t have said what I did. I can be judgmental sometimes, it’s a flaw. I’m working on it,” he tries to reason, but Niall is still a bit hesitant when it comes to the spoiled Prince.

“Also, I don’t trust people easily, but you’ve already proved yourself trustworthy,” Zayn continues, biting the inside of his cheek as his tawny eyes gaze at Niall in a rather uncharacteristically pleading fashion, “Can we just start over?”

For once, Niall can tell that Zayn isn’t being sarcastic or fucking with him- he is actually sincere. So, Niall can forgive him, he guesses. 

“Fine,” Niall groans, rolling his eyes; he’s still trying to hold a grudge but is finding it more difficult by the second as Zayn smiles, and yes, he has a beautiful smile. Niall is momentarily stunned.

“Cool, come on, let me introduce you to my parents,” Zayn says, motioning for him to follow and before Niall can protest, he walks off. Niall bites his lip as he takes tiny steps to follow after Zayn; really, Niall has purposely avoided the King and Queen, because he isn’t sure he can handle it. It’s a little too much, a little too soon, alas, seeing no other option, Niall sighs and downs the rest of his drink before sucking it up and following after Zayn .

The King is a tall man with a straight posture and Niall can just feel the power and authority rolling off of him; he is adorned in traditional, golden Dubai robes and head piece. The Queen is a beautiful, youthful looking woman in a classy dress. And really, Niall can see where Zayn got his looks from.

Zayn walks right up to them and says something in a language Niall can’t understand before they turn to look at him and Niall feels himself sweat.

“Your Majesties,” Niall says, trying desperately to keep his voice steady as he awkwardly bows his head, “It’s an honor to meet you.”

Surprisingly, the King and Queen are both quite wonderful people, who aren’t nearly as intimidating as they appear once you’ve actually taken the time to speak with them. Niall enjoys chatting with them for just a few minutes before some other highly _important_ guy steps in, allowing Niall an easy exit.

With a fair bit of reluctance, Niall allows Zayn to drag him away, leading him into the mix of people where he happens to get introduced to a few other Princes and Princesses; Niall might add that the Prince of Norway is especially good-looking. After a while, Niall feels drained of energy and ungracefully drops himself down on a velvet bench near the wall. He places the empty champagne glass down next to him and it’s immediately whisked away by a waiter clad in a black vest and white gloves- he might also add that said waiter is a handsome, college-aged guy with the cutest blonde curls; Niall can’t help but hold eye contact a little longer than necessary while shooting him a flirty smile.

 

+

 

As Zayn takes a seat on the bench - much more gracefully than Niall of course - they sit in companionable silence for a bit, listening to the chatter surrounding them while doing a fair share of people-watching.

“This place is beautiful,” Niall mutters after a while longer and looks around at the high ceiling, gazing at the elegant pillars and pristine tapestries. Not to mention the beautiful, big ass chandelier hanging over their heads.

Zayn looks around as well, offering a slight shrug in acknowledgement, but something tells Niall that he’s seen enough beautiful places to not even be phased by them anymore, which, really, Niall finds rather sad. He hopes he’ll never be too jaded to notice the beauty in things.

“Would you like a private tour?” Zayn asks, causing Niall to look up at him, surprise clear on his face. Zayn has really gone out of his way to make up for his former pricky attitude; despite how badly Niall wishes he could remain bitter and indifferent towards Zayn’s kindness, the truth is, he just no longer has the energy to hold a grudge. Niall really appreciates the impromptu gesture and smiles as he pushes himself to his feet.

“Lead the way, your _Royal Highness_ ,” Niall teases with a cheeky grin, earning a predictable eye roll from Zayn as he takes the lead. They are about to head off, and right as they make their way toward the grand oak doors which lead into the hallway, Josh appears along with Conrad and Danielle.

“Hey, beautiful,” Josh says, a soft smile gracing his lips as he takes Niall’s hand; Niall’s cheeks all but catch fire as Josh places a delicate kiss along his knuckles.

After sharing a fond look with the charming brunette, Niall remembers the Prince standing awkwardly beside him and gestures in his direction, “Uh, Zayn was just giving me a tour,” Niall explains.

“Oh, really? Awesome! We’ll come to!” Danielle exclaims, clapping her hands together. There’s a bit of silence before she looks around, eyes settling on Zayn in a questioning gaze, “That’s okay, right?” she asks, merely out of courtesy rather than seeking actual permission.

Zayn looks away and shrugs, “Whatever,” he mumbles, starting off in the direction they had been heading.

Along the way they pick up Liam, Perrie and a few other Prescott students until they’ve formed a little group with Zayn in the lead. Zayn explains a few paintings along the way, and Niall’s a little more than fascinated because of the excessive poems, books and paintings that are being presented to him as if it’s no big deal.

As he studies a few paintings that have a bit of a familiar touch to them, Niall begins to realize they must have all been done by the same artist. It doesn’t take much of a genius to figure out who that artist is.

Zayn is an artist, no doubt.

“You seem to know a lot about paintings,” Niall states, a curious glint in his eye as he comes closer to stand next to Zayn, “Do you paint as well?”

“Yeah, a little,” Zayn murmurs, surprising Niall a bit- who knew the Prince could be so modest?

“Those paintings in your room, you did those, didn’t you?” Niall asks, and Zayn gives him a slightly uncomfortable glance before nodding, “Yeah.”

“They’re really amazing,” Niall compliments, shyly glancing up to watch as Zayn shrugs, “They’re okay, I guess,” Zayn concurs quietly as he leads the small, chatting group through a pair of double doors.

 

+

 

Later that night, when they finally arrive back home, Niall feels drained of energy. He collapses on his bed fully clothed and heaves such a deep sigh that Conrad asks him if he is okay.

“I’ve been better,” is his reply. He is slowly about to doze off when his door springs open and- low and behold- Louis, Harry, Liam and Zayn march right on in. Niall nearly has a heart attack and he wonders whose idea it was not to have locks on the doors.

“What are you doing?” Niall groans, eyeing them nervously. They’re all dressed for a night out and Niall experiences an uncomfortable sinking feeling in his chest as he glances at the clock- it’s past midnight.

“Get up! We are going out!” Louis announces, not bothering to explain any further.

Niall blinks.

“I don’t want to,” he replies flatly, attempting to bury his head under the pillow, as if disappearing will have the same effect on the others.

Louis frowns.

“Well then, good thing I didn’t ask if you _wanted_ to,” he snaps, leaning forward to give the warm blankets a harsh tug, “now, move it.”

Niall weighs his options: he could refuse and ruin everything he has achieved so far and possibly get on Louis’ bad side or he could just go with it, and whine about it later.

He heaves a sigh.

“Give me a sec.”

 

+

 

Glitz, glamour and a good-looking crowd, tasteful drinks, good music and Niall doesn’t entirely regret coming to this nightclub in downtown Washington.

He is standing by the bar, nursing a purple drink - he isn’t sure what it is but it tastes good – and somehow he has managed to lose the other boys in the crowd. Oh darn.

When an older guy keeps leering at him, Niall decides to find the other boys, but first, he has to empty his bladder. The restroom is oddly empty, but Niall doesn’t mind. He has just finished and is washing his hands when two guys attached to each other stumble inside.

Niall freezes completely, his eyes wide.

It’s Louis and Harry.

They are kissing, open-mouthed and frantically, like their very lives depends on it; their fingers flying over the other’s body, touching every millimeter they can reach. Harry grabs Louis’ bum - making Louis groan into his mouth - as he lifts him up and places him on the edge of a sink.

Niall can’t tear his eyes away; he can’t move. And embarrassedly enough, the view turns him on.

They release each other’s mouths, panting loudly and Harry dives down, attacking Louis’ exposed neck with wet kisses and love bites. Louis throws his head back, his fingers twisting in Harry’s curls and just as he does that, his eyes meets Niall’s.

Niall blushes several impressing shades of red.

Louis’ face is flushed, his eyes a bottomless black, his hair a mess - and fuck, he looks hot - he smirks at Niall.

“Oh, hi Niall,” he calls out casually.

Harry pauses his work on Louis’ neck and looks toward Niall who is still nailed to the ground; he smirks too, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“We have an audience,” Harry says will a dirty grin and Niall begins to back away, still blushing like mad.

“Uh, I-I, eh, I’ll just…” Niall trails off, blushing even more because of his miserable stuttering and points towards the door.

“Or you could join?” Harry suggest, sending Niall a cheeky smile.

Niall turns around and flees.

Oh my God, Niall thinks, so it’s official: Harry and Louis are together. Of course, it had been so obvious all along.

Once outside of the bathroom, he runs into Zayn, “Hey, you wanna have a smoke?” He asks, and Niall nods, still thrown by what he’d just watched. He follows Zayn out on the patio and accepts the cigarette Zayn offers him.

Niall doesn’t smoke, but he needs something to calm himself.

Zayn lights the cigarette for him and Niall chokes on his first inhale receiving a soft laughter from Zayn.

“Adorable,” Zayn smirks.

“I am not adorable,” Niall grumbles, successfully exhaling a puff of smoke, watching it swirl lazily in the air before disappearing. He is really getting tired of getting called adorable by these guys; did they mistake him for a puppy?

He slowly feels the nicotine seeping into his system, instantly relaxing his aching back and racing mind.

“Yes, you are,” Zayn argues, making impressive smoke rings. “You’re tiny and blonde, your cheeks are always pink and you’re always clueless. You’re practically begging to be corrupted.”

Zayn sends him a sexy, suggestive wink and Niall blushes.

“Shut up,” he groans, trying desperately to not sound so fucking adorable. Seriously, why is this happening?

Zayn laughs and Niall glares.

 

+

 

Later on, they find Liam completely wasted, singing at the top of his lungs and nearly drowning in the pool. Louis and Harry join them later on, looking suspiciously disheveled and sated - Niall just hopes they have more class than hooking up in a toilet stall - and they call it a night and head home.

As Niall watches them on the way home, all sufficiently drunk and laughing, he can’t help but smile. Maybe… maybe things will just turn more normal now.

He hopes.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks til Paulo for revising chapter 10 ! :)

Chapter 10

 

Niall wakes up with pleasant warmth against his mouth, smiles half-awake, and hums. Then, he realizes it isn’t the remains of a dream and his eyes fly open. He’s met with dancing brown eyes, and he bolts upright, almost knocking noses with Josh.

 

“J-Josh?” he asks, blinking rapidly with his eyes, staring at the boy practically on top of him. He throws a glance at the alarm clock on his nightstand and it’s a little past half 8.

 

“Good morning,” Josh smiles, leaning over and giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

 

“Uh, good morning, and what are you doing?” Niall questions, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and yawning lightly.

 

“I thought we’d walk to breakfast together,” Josh replies, playing with a lock of Niall’s hair.

 

“Right,” Niall says, laughing nervously. This is getting out of hand, pretty fast. “Let me just get ready, yeah?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Niall throws his covers aside, glances at Conrad’s side of the room only to find the boy gone. He must have gone on his early jogging or something, Niall concludes. Inside the bathroom, he stares at his face, and tugs a little at his hair. His dark roots are showing and he decides he is in need of new dye.

 

Right. He shouldn’t be thinking about hair dye right now. He should be thinking about the current problem in his room.

 

Josh is taking this fake relationship a little too seriously, and while Niall can’t find the heart to stop it, he can’t find it in himself to lead Josh on, to make him believe that his feelings are reciprocated.

 

He has to set him straight once and for all.

 

With that decision, Niall finishes up in the bathroom rather fast and walks out, his hair still dripping with water. Josh is telling him about some student-teacher conference as he is tugging on his uniform, but the blond is only listening with one ear while he tries to formulate the words in his head to come out in the best, most merciful way.

 

“You ready?” Josh asks, pushing himself off the bed. “Let’s go.” He says, offering Niall his hand and Niall swallows.

 

“Josh,” he starts out, but doesn’t know how to proceed.

 

“Yeah?” Josh looks at him, his soft eyes and affectionate smile and slightly mussed hair and he looks so good and…and _in love_ that Niall’s words die in his throat.

 

He can’t. Omg. He’s the worst, but he can’t.

 

Cursing himself left and right, he takes Josh’s hand and smiles.

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Look at the lovebirds,” Louis says when he and Josh reach the breakfast table, making Niall blush. “Aren’t you both adorable?”

 

“Shove it, Louis,” grits Niall through his teeth as he slides into the seat next to Zayn, Josh sitting next to him. Louis laughs but thankfully, lunges into some other conversation with a couple of the guys at the table. The girls are all chatting loudly about all the shopping they’ll have to do this weekend for the Legacy, and Niall is trying to figure out how to ultimately straighten out his life.

 

“Guys! Guys!” Amanda screeches to a halt at their table, her face red from running, her big earrings dangling and her breasts almost falling out of her shirt. Everybody stops what they're doing to look at the girl.

 

“You’re _never_ going to believe who is back!” she exhales, her eyes wide and set on Louis. Louis slowly put down the spoon he’d been eating cereal with and looks at Amanda with a raised almost uninterested brow.

 

“Do I care?” he rolls his eyes, and the girl nods frantically.

 

“Oh, you’re going to care about this one,” she says, and everyone exchanges confused looks. Niall looks quizzically at Harry from across the table and the pop prince shrugs.

 

“Quit the drama and say it already,” Louis demands.

 

“Stacy Stone,” Amanda says, eyes wide and this get an immediate reaction from around the table. 

 

“What?” 

 

“No way!”

 

“Why would she be back?” skitters through the table and Niall is left to dumbly look back and forth wondering who on earth Stacy Stone is to get such a reaction. He looks at Louis and the boy’s eyes are slightly narrowed, his jaw slightly clenched.

 

“Omg, there she is!” one of the girls, Niall isn’t sure which one, screeches and everyone turns towards the dining hall’s double doors.

 

In slides a tall girl with moonlight pale skin, long, straight raven hair, flowing down her back, her eyes are cold and dark, her posture straight as she walks in with a couple of books held against her chest. She is beautiful in a kind of dark way, no doubt.

 

Her icy eyes falls on their table and her lips twitch up in a sneering, scornful smile, and she strides right up to them, stopping right next to Louis’ chair. Louis ever so slowly pulls his chair out of the table and stands up his full length, meeting Stacy’s eerily cold stare with one of his own.

 

 

The whole table seems to hold their breaths as they watch the showdown. Niall can feel the whole cafeteria’s eyes on them and some have even stopped up to stare as well.

 

 

“Louis,” Stacy says, her eyes sliding up and down Louis with a distasteful expression, and really, Niall has never seen anyone dare look at Louis that way.

 

 

“Stacy,” Louis drawls, his expression matching hers. “Who let you back in?”

 

 

Stacy doesn’t reply immediately, she just stares Louis down, then she lets her cold eyes sweep over the table. When Niall meets her dark gaze, he has to look away. Stacy smirks, slowly, darkly, looking back at Louis.

 

 

“I can see things haven’t changed here,” she says, scrunching up her nose. “But they will.” Her words seems to bear a hidden threat and not giving Louis a chance to retort, she saunters away, each and every eye of the cafeteria following her.

 

 

Louis sits back down and everyone’s eyes are back on him, curious to see his reactions.

 

 

“They let all kinds of trash in these days,” he says, taking a bit of his apple. Just like that, the heavy air dissipates and everyone laughs, seemingly agreeing with Louis.

 

 

Niall waits for the laughter to die down before asking.

 

 

“Who was that?”

 

 

Everyone looks at him and he is beginning to feel like that one clueless kid that never has any idea of what’s going on.

 

 

Everybody looks towards Louis, expecting him to reply.

 

 

“No one important,” Louis replies and everyone returns to whatever they were doing. Niall frowns and looks towards Josh for answers.

 

 

“She used to go here,” is all he gets from Josh, accompanied by a shrug.

 

 

She definitely looked like someone important, and nobody seemed to want to tell him what exactly that was all about.

 

 

….

 

“I trust you’ve finished the book you were assigned,” Mr. Collin, the rather young and good-looking teacher for the honor English class says, looking around as a few students groans. “Now, I would like you to pair up, discuss the book and make a 15 minutes presentation on a focus of the book of your choice. You have two classes to finish up, so use your time wisely.”

 

 

Niall sinks deeper in his chair with a small sigh as chairs are pulled out and chatter erupts as the students begin to find themselves a partner. He didn’t have time to read the book, hadn’t gotten past the first couple of chapters thanks to the school’s evil four.

 

 

“Hey.”

 

 

Speaking of the devil.

 

 

Niall peeks up from where he has his nose buried in his book to see Zayn hovering over him, of course looking perfect in his uniform, the usual blazer ditched for a navy varsity jacket. Zayn looks down at him, a brow raised in amusement.

 

 

Niall slowly lowers the book and looks expectantly at Zayn.

 

 

“You want to be partners?” he asks, holding up his worn copy of _For Whom the Bell Tolls_ by Hemmingway. Niall is stunned into silence for a moment, beyond surprised that out of the whole class, that Zayn wants to be partners with him.

 

 

Great, just on the day that Niall can’t contribute whatsoever.

 

 

“Eh, sure, but I haven’t finished it yet. Being busy the last week, y’know,” Niall says and can’t help the accusing glare he punctuates with that sentence.

 

 

“Ah,” is all Zayn says and Niall fully expects him to turn around and find another partner more suitable but once again takes him by surprise when he grabs a chair and pulls it up to Niall’s desk. 

 

“I guess the least I can do is wait,” he says, feigning a guilty expression, but Niall can see the smirk he is trying to fight down.

 

 

Jerk.

 

 

“How sweet of you,” Niall says sarcastically. “Just so you know it’ll take me a couple of days to be finished and that's if I read it nonstop,” Niall sighs as he flips through the thick paperback.

 

 

“I can wait,” Zayn says and sends Niall an unreadable look making Niall believe there’s more to his words. “We’ll just have to work in our free time,” he adds as he pulls out a sketchpad and a pencil.

 

 

“Right,” Niall drawls, eyeing Zayn suspiciously, not sure what to make of the sudden show of friendliness. Oh well, he might just start reading anyway. He suppresses a sigh and turn onto Chapter Three, beginning to read.

 

 

Or attempting to.

 

 

It’s hard really because: one, he has never liked Hemmingway as an author, never understood what the hype was all about; two, he can smell Zayn’s aftershave and it’s distracting; and three, Zayn is staring at him.

 

 

Niall looks up to meet Zayn’s eyes intense on him, so intense that Niall can feel the heat of his gaze under his skin, prickling hotly under his cheeks and he blushes.

 

 

“What?” he blurts out.

 

 

Zayn doesn’t say anything. He kicks himself back on his chair, crosses his legs and concentrate on drawing something on his sketchpad.

 

 

Okay...

 

 

Niall returns to his book and stubbornly refuses all his desires to sneak a peek at Zayn - he kind of fails at some point and glances at Zayn to see him completely focused on his sketchpad, making Niall wonder what he is drawing - he manages to get through a few other pages - feeling Zayn glance at him from one moment to another, but he doesn’t lose focus completely - before the class is over.

 

 

People begins to gather their stuffs and Niall marks the page he is at, satisfied - considering Zayn’s distracting gorgeous face across from him - and packs his stuff. He looks toward Zayn as the boy rips out the page he’d been sketching on and, before Niall can sneak a peek, folds it.

 

 

“Are you going to the cafeteria?” Zayn asks as he grabs his messenger bag, and Niall nods. Yup, he is in dire need of caffeine and maybe a few pastries. Yeah, he is hungry. “Me too,” Zayn says as they walk out of class together.

 

 

Niall wants to ask him what he was drawing, and who Stacy is and oh yeah, he needs to know how Zayn always smell like he’s been dipped in unicorn dust. However, before he can ask either, Josh pushes himself away from the pillar he’d been leaning on outside the steps of the building.

 

 

Gulp. Here comes the guilt.

 

 

“Josh,” Niall says as he and Zayn stops at the end of the steps. Josh’s eyes are all bright and happy as he walks up to them.

 

 

“Hey,” he says and leans down, planting a quick kiss on his lips.

 

 

“Sup,” Niall says as he begins to walk, and Josh falls into step with him, taking his hand.

 

 

“Are you busy?” he asks. “'Cause I want to talk to you.”

 

 

That sounds serious. Niall stops up and looks at Josh. 

“Uhm, sure, talk.” Josh’s gaze flickers to Zayn who is standing to the side, watching them with a bored, uninterested gaze. 

“Alone,” Josh says and Niall raises a brow, glancing at Zayn. Zayn rolls his eyes.

 

 

“Whatever,” he says and walks past them, but just as he passes, Niall feels something slide down his bum and he freezes. _Did Zayn just touch his ass?_ He stares after Zayn and just then, the prince tilts his face to the side and sends Niall an almost unnoticeable smirk before sauntering off.

 

 

Niall blushes, his gaze falling on Josh, who is frowning after Zayn’s retreating form. He looks back at Niall and his face softens. “Come.”

 

 

Niall wordlessly lets Josh drag him away and doesn’t question him, assuming maybe he wants somewhere more private but as they round the abandoned Gwendolynn Hall, he frowns.

 

 

“Josh, where are we going?” he asks as Josh leads him up a few stairs Niall has never seen and they reach a small enclosed space between the buildings grey walls. There is a single, broad bench there and Niall curiously inspects it closer.

 

 

His stomach clenches when he sees it’s covered in carvings of names: couple names, plus-signs and hearts, lots and lots of hearts. Great. Was this a place the school’s couples came to confess their undying love for each other? He sincerely hopes not.

 

 

“Niall.”

 

 

Niall almost doesn’t dare and turn to look at Josh. Doesn’t dare see that look in his brown eyes; that affectionate gaze. He turns around, holding his breath.

 

 

His eyes widen when he sees the small, velvet box in Josh’s hand. Omg. He isn’t going to propose to him is he? He tries to calm himself down, chasing away the ridiculous thought before he stressed himself out.

 

 

“I saw it and it reminded me of you,” Josh smiles and Niall can’t even summon one. “Don’t worry. I didn’t use a lot of money on it. Just thought you should have it,” he says, holding it out for Niall to take.

 

 

Niall stares at the small box like it might burn him. He isn’t sure what "not a lot of money” means to these kids. Maybe a few thousands?

 

 

“Come on, take it,” Josh says encouragingly, and Niall really, really doesn’t want to. Though, he can’t destroy that hopeful look on Josh’s face so he finds himself reaching for it.

 

 

He gingerly takes it and uses a half-minute staring at it in dread before clicking the box open. He isn’t sure what he expected, but he definitely didn’t expect a silver, clover necklace. Niall stared at it for a minute, speechless.

 

 

“You like it?” Josh asks, his voice slightly anxious.

 

 

Niall swallows, taking the necklace out of his box, letting the clover reflect the sun as it dangles from its leather cord.

 

 

“I…I love it,” he says sincerely, looking up at Josh.”Thank you.”

 

 

Josh beams.

 

 

“I’m glad,” he says. “Here, let me give you it on.” Niall wordlessly gives Josh the necklace and turn around. Josh stands close behind him and gives him the necklace on, and Niall relishes in the cool feeling of the leather against his skin. Then he feels Josh’s warm lips against his neck as he kisses it softly. Niall automatically bow his head slightly to give him more access. Josh kisses along his neck, before taking his hand, turning him around and sealing their lips.

 

 

They part for air, Josh’s hand coming down and curling at Niall’s waist as he peers into Niall’s eyes intently. Niall feels himself blush under the intense gaze, and he should have seen what came next.

 

 

“Can I love you forever?” Josh suddenly says and Niall’s breath catches in his throat. “Will you be my boyfriend.”

 

 

Oh fuck. Niall stops breathing.

 

 

Josh blushes slightly at his own straight forwardness. “It’s just, I know this started out as a scheme to make Whit leave you alone and I swear, I didn’t plan it… I didn’t plan to fall in love with you.” Josh’s cheeks are an adorable pink shade and his eyes are wide.

 

 

Niall doesn’t know what to say.

 

 

“I…I…” he trails off.

 

 

“Give me a chance, yeah?” Josh says, his eyes big and pleading. “I want to show you how much I love you. I’ll be the best boyfriend, I swear.”

 

 

Niall can’t. He can’t do this. But he also can’t _not_ do it. He can’t break Josh’s heart. He just can’t. Josh looks so hopeful and pretty and oh god, Niall has never had anyone look at him with so much adoration and love in his eyes.

 

 

Josh really, really loves him. maybe Niall can learn to love him back in time. He smiles, taking Josh’s hands and looks into his eyes.

 

 

“I’d love to.”

 

 

Also, Niall has never seen anyone look quite so happy before and his heart melts. Josh is too cute, really. He surges down and kisses him on the lips; deeply and passionately and even though Niall isn’t in love with Josh, he is in love with his kisses.

 

 

Josh carves their initials into the bench among all the other names with his key. N + J and a big heart. Niall’s heart is a little heavy but he ignores it.

 

 

He hopes he doesn’t end up hurting Josh even more by this decision.

 

…

 

On his way into Privilege House, he runs into Jessica for the first time since the Nobash. They both stop up and stare at each other, the air awkward. Now that Niall knows she isn’t an evil blackmailer without morals, he doesn’t know how to act around her. She clutches her books to her chest and glances to the side.

 

 

“Hey,” Niall says more to break the silence than anything. Jessica looks up at him, a small smile on her lips; the first genuine smile to him.

 

 

“Hey,” she replies, voice soft.

 

 

“You alright?” he finally asks. He hopes Louis has left her alone for good. She doesn’t deserve any more crap.

 

 

She nods.

 

 

“You?”

 

 

“Good.”

 

 

Another awkward silence.

 

 

“I think I’ll just…” Niall trails off and Jessica nods understanding.

 

 

“Yeah, bye,” she says and brushes past him.

 

 

Niall looks after her and wonders that now that everything is behind them, then maybe they can become friends. He sighs and turns around, heading for his room.

 

 

He walks in on Conrad sitting on his bed having a study session with a girl Niall never has seen before. She has mocha colored skin, high cheek bones and dark hair. She's breathtaking.

 

 

“Hi, Niall,” Conrad says without looking up from his bed.

 

 

“Hey,” Niall replies, throwing his backpack unceremoniously on the bed and walking up to his closet to extract some more comfortable clothes.

 

 

“What is that?” Conrad asks, and Niall tilts his head to the side to look at Conrad questioningly. 

 

 

“What?” he asks. Conrad nods towards Niall’s pants.

 

 

“There’s a piece of paper sticking out from your back pocket,” he says. Niall frowns and reaches behind and true enough, his hand closes around a piece of folded paper. Intrigued, he pulls it out. He glances at Conrad and his study date but they’ve lost interest and are discussing a mathematical formula.

 

 

Niall drops down on his bed and unfolds the paper. He hadn’t expected to be met with a roughly sketched face. His face. His eyes widen as he stares at the rather impressing drawing. Anyone could tell it was him. For a second, he is confused but then he sees something written at the bottom - “Adorable” in smooth, curvy letters - and it hits him. Zayn drew it.

 

 

A warmth starts in his belly, spreading through his body and settling heavily in his cheeks. Zayn must have put it in his pocket earlier today when he touched his bum. He stares at the drawing for a long moment. Zayn obviously drew it in class while Niall was reading, which explains all the glances thrown his way.

 

 

Niall turns the paper randomly and is surprised when he sees a message quickly scrawled across the page. It reads: _“Come to the art cemetery at 8. Wanna show you my paintings. x - Zayn”_

 

 

Niall feels a surge of something he isn’t sure of, something warm and pleasant. This is, well, this is quite surprising, pleasantly surprising. He stares at the smiley face and the x. He forces himself not to read too much into it. Apparently, Zayn feels worse about messing with Niall’s head than he’d thought.

 

 

And what the fuck was the art cemetery?

 

 

He glances at the clock. It’s half past 7. He asks Conrad where the art cemetery is as nonchalantly as possible. Conrad gives him an odd look but gives him the location nonetheless.

 

 

Niall takes a shower and if he takes extra time picking out his clothes, he doesn’t let himself question it.

 

 

He walks out, ten minutes before the clock hits eight. It’s a cold night outside, and he shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he walks along the cobblestone path illuminated by the soft glow of the lampposts.

 

 

The art cemetery is a scary building, located lonely in the far back of the campus, hidden behind the more imposing dorm of Hull Hale, the teacher and administration dorm. No wonder he hasn’t noticed it before.

 

 

He hesitates just outside the large doors. What if this is some kind of sick prank? After what he is seen they are capable of, he isn’t so sure he trust them so easily. He takes a deep breath and pulls open the door, wincing lightly at the loud creak of the old wood.

 

 

He is met with a big empty hall. He stands there for a second not sure what to do but then he catches sight of a door creaked open, soft, yellow light seeping out. He swallows and walks over. He warily pushes the door open and peeks inside.

 

 

The walls are lined with covered paintings, the dim light comes from a light bulb hanging from the roof and there are a few couches spread around and a desk. Zayn is standing over the desk, bent over a computer, his face bathed in the blue artificial light. He looks up when Niall steps inside.

 

 

“You came,” he smiles softly.

 

 

“I came,” Niall repeats as he loosens his scarf and shrugs off his jacket. He looks around. “What is this place?”

 

 

“The art cemetery,” Zayn says, gesturing for Niall to come closer. “People constantly donate art to the school, but the school doesn’t have nearly enough space for all of it. So, it ends up here.”

 

 

“What a waste,” Niall mutters, sitting on the edge of the arm lean, looking around curiously.

 

 

"Well, some of it sees the light of day occasionally," Zayn, his fingers tapping away before he turns the screen towards Niall. "They keep a list of who donated what. This way if, say, Sir Cornelius Mosley calls and says he's showing up for tea with the dean, they can whip out his prized Manet and hang it in the drawing room."

 

 

Niall looks impressed at the long list, but he shouldn’t expect less of this school.

 

 

“You wanted to show me your art?” Niall asks curiously, looking up at Zayn. Zayn nods, pointing towards the west wall. “Those line of paintings are mine. Just something I do in my free time.”

 

 

Niall walks up to the paintings and studies them all, the awe quickly sweeping his features. Zayn can draw all kind of things. From landscapes, to inanimate objects, to animals and…people, or the beginning of people. Niall studies the half-finished painting nearest to him; it shows a pair of hands, one laid across the other in a graceful pose. The fingers, however, hadn’t been detailed and they tapered off into nothing. Behind that is what appears to be the bare shoulder and neck of a girl who is half looking away from the viewer, but her hair and features had never been filled in. Still, Niall knows it is supposed to be one of Perrie. Every painting, in fact, features some odd angle on some different body part, but none of them are completed and not one is a traditional, face-forward portrait.

 

 

“You never finished those?” Niall asks, looking back at Zayn who walks up to stand next to him. Zayn stares at the unfinished paintings, his eyes lingering on the one who is doubtlessly the beginning of a portrait of Perrie.

 

 

“I never have problems with inspirations and finishing my work,” Zayn says. “But with portraits, it’s different. Half-way through, I just lose the motivation completely.”

 

 

“Maybe you just need the right person,” Niall says off-handedly and fishes out the drawing of him. “Nice drawing, by the way.” He smiles, turning his face to look at Zayn. Then, his breath catches in his throat, because Zayn is looking at him with that intense, loaded gaze that makes Niall’s skin prickle with heat.

 

 

Niall wants to look away, but Zayn’s gaze doesn’t allow it. Niall doesn’t now how long they stare at each other but it feels like an eternity, then suddenly, Zayn reaches out and brushes his thumb along Niall cheeks.

 

 

“I want to paint you,” Zayn says quietly, his gaze still intense. “Can I paint you?”

 

 

Niall’s throat feels dry, and what is heart doing. _Thud, thud, thud_ , his heartbeat grows louder and heavier at the second, and Niall is sure Zayn can hear it. Zayn stares into his eyes and the air is intense and loaded, then for a split-second Zayn’s gaze flickers down to Niall’s lips and Niall’s heart stops.

 

 

That moment, Niall knows he is going to kiss him and for one selfish second, he wants him to but then a face flashes before his mind.

 

 

 _Josh_.

 

 

The second Zayn leans closer, Niall tilts his head away and takes a step back. He clears his throat, not daring to look at Zayn’s face.

 

 

“It’s late, we should get back,” Niall says quietly and chances a glance at Zayn. He is looking to the side, a hand rubbing his neck and is that pink tinting his high cheekbones? It’s too dark to tell.

 

 

“Yeah,” Zayn says, his words a little hoarse.

 

 

Niall puts on his jacket and wraps his scarf around his neck, following Zayn out. Zayn locks the door - Niall doesn’t even understand why he has a key - and they begin a very awkward, silent walk back to their dorm.

 

 

Niall doesn’t know what to think, doesn’t want to think. Guilt coils heavy in his stomach at the thought that he almost cheated on Josh within hours of getting together with him. and Zayn. Doesn’t he have a girlfriend? Or had Niall misread the whole thing? Maybe Zayn hadn’t been about to kiss him.

 

 

Niall is so lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice when they arrived at the door of their dorm. Zayn opens the door and throws a quick glance at Niall, his eyes falling on the necklace evident because of Niall’s open jacket.

 

 

“Cool necklace,” He says.

 

 

Niall looks down at it and gives a small smile.

 

 

“Yeah, it’s a gift from Josh,” he says and watches something fall over Zayn’s face.

 

 

“You guys are taking this thing a little too far, don’t you think?” Zayn says, brow raised slightly as he studies Niall. “I'm sure Whittaker got the message long ago.”

 

 

Niall blushes and fingers his the clover shyly.

 

 

“Uh, he asked me out,” he says in a quiet voice, looking away from Zayn's always intense gaze. “We’re together. Officially.”

 

 

Zayn’s eyes go a tiny bit wide and for a second, his eyes are dark with an emotion Niall has no chance of deciphering, as it is gone the next second.

 

 

“Oh, congrats, I guess,” Zayn says flatly and turns around, walking to the elevator.

 

 

Niall stands still for a second, staring at Zayn’s back before muttering a “Thanks.”

 

 

That night, he doesn’t sleep well.

 

 

….

 

The next morning when Niall arrives hands in hands with Josh, there is a commotion going on at the table. He quickly glances at Zayn who looks away when their eyes meet. He’d been looking. Shaking off his thoughts, Niall takes a seat.

 

 

“I know, I know! Your gown is perfection. It so sucks that you're not going to get to wear it," Danielle says to an obviously upset Amanda.

 

 

"I mean, why did I even go to Milan this summer if it was all for nothing!?" Amanda whines, crossing her arms over her chest. "Two weeks couture-hopping in that ridiculous heat, and for what?!"

 

 

“It’s fucking bullshit, is what it is! How dare they!” Jeremy cries, his eyes a storm of rage. “We are more prestigious than half those schools invited! For god’s sake!”

 

 

Everybody is whining and moaning and complaining, except for Louis who is looking like he is about to tear the hair out of a pair of girls that are whining loudly next to him.

 

 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP! ALL OF YOU!” He suddenly yells and an immediate silence settles over not only their table but the whole cafeteria. Everyone is looking at Louis with wide eyes, unmoving and with baited breath.

 

 

Louis glares around, everyone who catches eyes with him immediately looking down.

 

 

“You’re a bunch of annoying twats,” Louis growls.

 

 

Niall probably shouldn’t have picked that time to say, “What’s going on?”

 

 

“We were blackballed from the Legacy,” Harry says - the only one who dares to speak after Louis told them to shut up. “Every other private school on the east coast have received their invitation last night,. Except us.”

 

 

Oh. Wow.

 

 

“If this is really happening, then we are going to get ostracized from everything, from here on out,” Jeremy says, the no-talk spell broken, grimacing. “We might as well enroll in a public school.” Everyone seems to shudder at the mere possibility. “We have to find out what’s going on," he says and everybody looks towards Louis.

 

 

“We don’t even know who is hosting,” Zayn says. “The Dreskins bailed.”

 

 

“The Dreskins?” Niall repeats.

 

 

“They've been hosting the Legacy for decades,” Liam explains helpfully.

 

 

“This is going to be the worst senior year ever!” Amanda declares dramatically.

 

 

“What a fucking coincidence,” Louis says and looks toward his left, everyone following his glaring eyes.

 

 

Stacy Stone is standing and shamelessly flirting with a good-looking guy in the middle of the cafeteria.

 

 

“What a fucking coincidence,” Louis repeats, his eyes practically dripping venom. At the exact same time, Stacy looks over and meets Louis poisonous look. She replies with a smirk.

 

 

Louis turns to look back at them.

 

 

“We are going to the Legacy. If it’s the last thing we do. We’re going.”

 

 

Niall can feel the impending drama.

 

 

Oh God.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Kattis for looking it over ! :)

Chapter 11

 

 

"No way. No way!" Amanda half screeches. She stands up and removes the phone from her ear, the better to yell into the receiver. "You suck, Vanessa! I hope you choke on a condom and die!" she shouts, slapping the phone closed.

 

 

"Amanda!" Perrie admonishes.

 

 

 

"What? We all know my sister's a slut," Amanda says with wide- eyed innocence.

 

 

 

“What is it?” Niall asks warily as he sits down at the morning table - which is once again in a commotion - and looks warily at Amanda.

 

 

"She said, and I quote, 'I can't send you the invitation,'" Amanda says, putting on an overly shrill voice and tipping her head from side to side, like a little girl mocking someone on the playground. "I just got an e-mail saying that if anyone shared info about the Legacy with a Prescott student, the planner would find out about it, and the person who blabbed would be kept out.' Ugh! I am so not giving her Bubbles now."

 

 

"Bubbles?"

 

 

"My horse," Amanda mumbles.

 

 

Her horse. Niall blinks. Alright.

 

 

 

"You guys? Rourke says the same thing!" Another girl cries, clutching her phone with both hands as she reads a text. "He's afraid of the e-mail."

 

 

 

Everybody groans. Louis seems to be getting impatient.

 

 

 

"That's what they're all saying," Harry says without looking up from his phone. “Someone is really intent on keeping us out this year; wonder what we did to piss them off.”

 

 

“We have to find out what is going on,” Jeremy says and everyone looks at Louis for an answer.

 

 

Louis is looking thoughtful.

 

 

“We clearly need an invitation to find out where they are coming from,” Louis says. “If none of the invited wants to show us one, then I’ll have to call in a favor. Don’t worry, I’ll get us one.”

 

 

Everybody seems to visibly relax at that. It seems like they really do trust Louis. Niall eyes him warily, wondering what he is up to now. Whatever it is, Niall just hopes he doesn’t get sucked into it.

 

*

 

That same evening, half of privilege house is lounging in the common room, either studying, reading or chatting together quietly. Niall is kicked back in a loveseat, half-lying on top of Josh, his head on the armrest as Josh playfully feeds him pieces of chocolate; the most heavenly, delicious chocolate Niall has ever tasted if he might add. It just melts in your mouth and almost feels like sex.

 

 

“That’s it, I am moving to Switzerland,” Niall almost moans, his eyes half-lidded (Josh told him the chocolate is from Switzerland).

 

 

Josh chuckles.

 

 

“I’ll come with you. Then we can live off chocolate for the rest of our lives,” He jokes lightly, playing with Niall’s hair, the way Niall loves. Niall laughs softly.

 

 

“Sounds like a plan to me,” He grins. Josh looks down at him adoringly before swooping down and kissing him, not wasting time licking into his mouth and tasting the lingering chocolate. Niall hums contently, his fingers moving up and curling around Josh’s hair. For a moment they forget where they are and Josh grips Niall’s side and presses deeper into the kiss, the playful entanglement of tongues quickly turning all wet and teeth and passionate; Josh’s fingers slips under Niall’s shirt, the skin on skin contact makes Niall release a quiet moan.

 

 

“Alright, are you guys going to have sex right there?” Harry voices from across the room, making Niall and Josh quickly release each other. “You know I wouldn’t mind watching.” Harry adds, winking.

 

 

Niall blushes, straightening up and glances around the room, thankful that only Harry seems to have noticed. Or maybe not. Niall’s heart all but stops when his eyes fall on Zayn. He is sitting on a couch reading a book next to Perrie who is reading a magazine. And he is staring at Niall. Not just normal staring, but _really_ staring; his face expressionless, his eyes intense. Niall can’t look away. He barely notices Josh’s lips brush against his ear as he whispers “Wanna find somewhere more private?” and he probably wouldn’t have stopped staring if Louis hadn’t chosen that moment to make his grand entrance.

 

 

He walks in, holding an opened Fedex envelope in his hand and everyone stops up to look at him as his cool gaze scans the room. His eyes stop on Perrie and Zayn.

 

 

“Perrie? Can you check this out for a sec?” He asks as he strolls over. Perrie’s eyes widened a little as she gets on her feet and straightens her shirt.

 

 

“That’s the invite?” She says as she gingerly takes the envelope from Louis. Louis nods and everyone gathers around to get a look as well. Even Niall can’t keep his curiosity in check and he pushes through the group and much to his horror, ends up standing next to Zayn. Zayn gives him a glance before looking away.

 

 

Perrie extracts a thick, ivory card from the envelope. She reads over the info quickly, her eyes lingering at what looks like to be an imprint of an orchid on the back; she traces it with her slim fingers, a smile slowly spreading across her features.

 

 

"Bouquet. This invitation came from Bouquet," she says, and Louis smirks a triumphant one, his eyes glinting with mischief.

 

 

“In New York City?” Danielle asks over her shoulder, and Perrie nods, handing the invitation back to Louis.

 

 

"The one and only," Perrie replies. “They have all these different levels of card stock and design, and they imprint each invitation with a flower according to its price point. Orchid is the highest. Whoever bought these has some bank."

 

 

What a shocker. Niall thinks sarcastically.

 

 

 

"You know exactly where this place is?" Louis asks.

 

 

Perrie fishes out her slim phone. “I'll get you the address and digits right now." She hits a few buttons and smiles. “Just sent it to you.”

 

 

Louis pulls out his phone and grins.

 

 

“Sweet.”

 

 

 

“Nice, babe,” Zayn says and kisses Perrie on the mouth. Niall looks away.

 

 

 

“So, New York?” Harry asks, looking at Louis. “Nice, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve been there.”

 

 

 

Louis eyes Harry.

 

 

 

“Sorry, Haz,” He says, patting the boy on top of his head like a pet. “I am not taking you.”

 

 

 

Harry’s face falls.

 

 

 

“What? Why?” He asks, clearly taken aback. Louis sighs dramatically.

 

 

 

 

“You know why,” Louis replies. “This is a mission. I can’t worry about salivating teenage girls recognizing you. You know what happened last time in Boston. Not again.”

 

 

 

 

“What? I can’t help that I am famous,” Harry pouts. “Come on, Lou. I’ll wear a disguise if that’ll make you happy.”

 

 

 

“Babe, not this time okay? And don’t give me that face,” Louis says when Harry’s pout intensifies. Suddenly something falls over Harry’s face. “Is there any other reason I can’t come with you?” He asks, eyes narrowing.

 

 

 

“None other than the one I’ve stated,” Louis replies and turns away from him. Harry stares at Louis’ back with an almost hurt expression before blowing out air with a huff. “Whatever.” He says, stalking away.

 

 

 

Niall looks after Harry a little worried before turning to Louis and tentatively tapping him on the shoulder. Louis looks at him.

 

 

 

“Uh, can I come?” He asks hopefully. “I’ve always wanted to see New York.”

 

 

“What? You’ve never been to New York?” Amanda asks shocked, and Niall’s cheeks turn pink.

 

 

 

“How can anyone call himself American and not been to New York?” Jeremy adds.

 

 

 

Maybe not all of us grew up with private pilots that could fly us anywhere we wanted. Niall thinks annoyed, but doesn’t voice it out loud. He just looks at Louis hopefully.

 

 

 

Louis studies him for a second, before shrugging.

 

 

 

“Fine, why not?”

 

 

Niall beams.

 

 

 

“Thanks!”

 

 

“I am coming too,” Zayn suddenly says and Niall turns to look at him so fast that he nearly has whiplash. Zayn ignores his surprised gaze. “There are some new pieces in the metropolitan museum I’ve been wanting to see.”

 

 

 

Louis looks at Zayn with an amused expression.

 

 

 

“Sure, Z,” He says, something like laughter in his eyes.

 

 

 

“I want to come as well,” Josh suddenly says and Niall raises a brow at him but to his surprise he is scowling at Zayn.

 

 

“This is not some kind of kindergarten trip, Joshua,” Louis replies without looking at him. “Two is more than enough. You stay and keep yourself out of trouble.”

 

 

Josh seems to want to protest but realizing that would get him nowhere; he clasps his mouth together, grumbling something under his breath.

 

 

*

 

“I’m going to miss you,” Josh says, pressing another kiss against Niall’s lips making Niall smile.

 

 

“Don’t worry, it’s just for a couple of days,” He says, and Josh nods.

 

 

“Hey, you two! We don’t have all day! Are you coming or what, Niall?!” Louis yells from the back of the limo, impatient.

 

 

Niall reluctantly pulls away from Josh and pecks him on the lips.

 

 

“See you, we’ll be back before you know of it,” Niall says and Josh nods, summoning a small smile.

 

 

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of him,” Zayn says and something in Josh’s eyes harden as he looks at Zayn. He looks like he is about to say something but he doesn’t. Niall gives him one last kiss before slipping into the limousine with Zayn and Louis.

 

 

He waves at Josh as the vehicle pulls out of the parking lot. Josh waves back, a small pout on his lips and Niall almost consider staying; but he really can’t pass up this opportunity.

 

 

“New York City! Here we come!” Louis hoots and summons a bottle of champagne, popping open the bottle. Zayn and Niall cheers and laughs as the foam washes over the side of the bottle to the floor.

 

 

“So, here’s the thing,” Louis says when he is done giving everyone a glass of champagne. “I have some personal business to take care of today, so you have the day for yourselves; do whatever you need to, visit the museum, and Zayn, show Niall around the city, yeah?”

 

 

“Sure,” Zayn says and gives Niall a brief glance before sipping a little champagne and giving Louis a raised brow. “Personal business?”

 

 

“Yup,” Louis says, downing his drink in one go, obviously not wanting to elaborate. Niall studies him over the rim of his glass; of all the boys, Louis is the one Niall can’t quite figure out. It’s like Louis doesn’t show all his colors, like he always has something to hide. It’s intriguing, actually.

 

 

They reach New York City after a nearly 2 hour drive, and Niall is almost hanging out of the window, a shit-eating grin on his face as he stares up at the skyscrapers with shiny eyes.

 

 

“Omg! We are here! We are here, guys!” Niall announces ecstatically, but really, he is the only one excited since Louis and Zayn probably has been here 1000 times.

 

 

 

“God, you’re like a little child,” Louis rolls his eyes and grabs Niall’s collar, yanking him into the car. “Get in or you’ll lose your head.”

 

 

 

Niall complies, settling back in the soft, leather seat. “So, are we staying at a hotel?”

 

 

 

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? My parents live here, we are crashing there while we are here,” Louis says nonchalantly as the limo enters the buzzing streets of New York, the people walking on the sidewalks looking curiously after the expensive vehicle.

 

 

“Awesome!” Niall grins, leaning his forehead against the window. A whole weekend away from school, it is going to be so great.

 

 

 

Louis’ parents’ home is located in Manhattan’s Upper East, and is astonishing. Niall can’t help but gape at the full-blown mansion nestled in the middle of an otherwise unassuming block.

 

 

From the outside it looks like a posh apartment building with its grand staircase and big, red door completed with a gold knocker. It looks large enough to be divided into eight or ten units. But it isn't. It is one unit; one huge, gorgeous, pristine, divine unit. Niall knows he must look like an awed tourist at Versailles as Louis leads them through the foyer toward the back of the house and the elevator.

 

 

They’re immediately greeted by a couple of maids.

 

 

“Master Louis,” They all chorus as one, their expression clearly reflecting surprise; seems like Louis didn’t tell them he was dropping by. Louis and Zayn shed their coats, handing them to the maids and Niall quickly follows their lead.

 

 

As they are led further into the room, the sound of soft, gorgeous music floats through the air, and Louis cracks the fondest smile Niall has yet to see on his face.

 

 

“Lottie is playing,” He says and comes to a sudden halt in front of a conservatory bathed in sunlight and filled with a breathtaking view of gorgeous flowers and plants. In the middle of everything is a grand piano, a young dirty-blond haired girl playing it with closed eyes; her fingers move over the keys with eased practice, producing a familiar piece. The scene looks like something out of an Austen novel.

 

 

Louis waits patiently until she is done, before making his presence known. He claps his hands against one another, and the girl startles, looking up with wide eyes. When her eyes fall on Louis, her whole face brightens up and she leaps to her feet.

 

 

“Louis!” She cries and lunges at said boy. Louis laughs heartily and catches her in his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. “I didn’t know you were coming!” The girl (Lottie, Niall assumes) says, pulling away a little and grinning up at Louis.

 

 

“Yeah, it was a surprise,” Louis says, brushing her long hair behind her ear and smiling. “You played beautifully. You’re getting better.”

 

 

 

“Thanks,” Lottie says, blushing and smiling shyly. First then does she notices Zayn and Niall standing behind Louis and her eyes widens a little in surprise.

 

 

“Hi Zayn!” She says and walks up to him. “Hi love,” Zayn greets and pecks her on her pink cheeks. She then stops and discreetly eyes Niall uncertainly.

 

 

“Oh, this is Niall, he is new at school,” Louis introduces and Niall goes for a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you, I assume you’re Louis’ little sister?”

 

 

The girl nods and returns the smile. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

 

 

“Where are the others?” Louis asks, looking around.

 

 

 

“Fizzy! Phoebe! Daisy! Louis is here!” Lottie shouts - Niall tries not to cringe at the impressive volume, the high ceiling only making it worse - and within seconds, three younger girls come barreling down the grand stair case. All of them having the same reactions as Lottie and soon enough, Louis is lying on the marble floor with a pile of girls on top of him.

 

 

“Louis! Yaay!”

 

 

“Louis! You’re here!”

 

 

“How long are you staying, Lou?”

 

 

Louis just laughs and tries to hug them all at the same time. Niall watches the scene quite intrigued; he would never have guessed Louis had that many siblings and sometimes, Louis exudes the air of one bratty child who was raised alone.

 

 

Niall is introduced to the girls; two twins and one 13 year old before Louis leads Zayn and Niall to the back of the house but not before promising the girls what he called “some Louis time”. The trio steps into an elevator and are whisked to the fourth floor where Louis’ room is situated.

 

 

To Niall’s astonishment, Louis’ room is the fourth floor. It is more of a suite, with an enormous bedroom, a sitting room with a TV the size of a movie screen, a walk-in closet with rows and rows of clothes and a blue-marble bathroom he can get lost in. It also has a mini kitchen stocked with snacks, a state-of-the art espresso machine and its own outdoor patio overlooking the park. Niall’s whole family can live in Louis’ suite comfortably.

 

 

"Make yourself at home, loves! Mi casa es su casa!” Louis drawls in a perfect Spanish accent and tosses his bag on his four-poster bed. As Niall and Zayn unpack their things, he turns to an oak cabinet and slid open the doors. Inside is a sleek stereo system surrounded by shelves and shelves of CDs and old- school records. An iPod is hooked up to the system, but there is also a CD player and a record player standing by.

 

 

"Wow. I had no idea you were so into music," Niall says and running his fingers along the spines of albums. All the classics are represented; everything from the Beatles to the Doors to the Clash to Us and hundreds of bands in between. However, Niall can’t help but notice that Louis has nothing of Harry’s music. He shrugs it off; it might not be his type of music.

 

 

"My anti-drug,” Louis says with a wry smile and selects a CD, popping it in. “Going to take a shower,” He says as music pours out and disappears into the bathroom.

 

 

“Alright,” Niall mutters, glancing at Zayn who looks comfortable sorting through his jeans - Niall assumes he’s been here 100 times before - Niall is a little wary about spending the rest of the day with Zayn alone; there is an unmistakable tension simmering under the surface.

 

 

It turns out not to be as bad as Niall had been afraid of. After Louis leaves Zayn and Niall to their own devices, Zayn wants to ride in a limo while Niall is certain that is no way to experience the city. The moment he suggest they walk and ride the subway, Zayn looks at him with a mortified expression like Niall told him to run down the street in his birthday suit.

 

 

 

“No. Fucking. Way,” Zayn says, stressing each word and Niall frowns.

 

 

 

“Oh come on, it’ll be much better that way,” Niall says.

 

 

 

“Riding in crammed transportation with sweating people? _no way_ ,” Zayn repeats in a voice of finality. “We’re taking a limo.”

 

 

Niall heaves a sigh.

 

 

“Come oooon!” He whines. “I’ll make sure none of those unworthy peasants gets anywhere close to your royal being!”

 

 

 

“I have never gotten on public transportation and I am certainly not starting now,” Zayn states, sounding like a snobbish rich boy more than ever; it doesn’t suit him, not at all.

 

 

 

“Please, it could be a new experience. Do it for me?” Niall says and clasps his hands under his chin, spilling his eyes wide open and sticking out his bottom lip. “ _Please_?”

 

 

 

Zayn seems to falter for a second, eyeing Niall with an almost nervous expression. Niall knows he needs a final push and then it hits him.

 

 

 

“I’ll let you paint me, how about that?” Niall says and he sees he has sparked Zayn’s interest. “I’ll even pose for you naked with a bowl of fruits if you want to.” Niall says that as a joke, but something in Zayn’s awakened gaze makes him add; “I didn’t mean that, I hope you realize that.”

 

 

The disappointment on Zayn’s face is so damn obvious that it makes Niall blush; did he really think he’d pose for him stark naked?!

 

 

 

“Fine,” Zayn huffs and gives Niall a half-hearted glare. “But if anything happens it’s on you,” and he actually looks positively terrified at what he has agreed on.

 

 

“Aww, I’ll protect you from the mean, dirty lower-classes,” Niall teases, slinging an arm over Zayn shoulder and grinning. “Nobody’s going to touch the prince without permission.”

 

 

Zayn eyes him.

 

 

 

“If anything should happen to me, then a whole nation will be out for your blood. No pressure, though.”

 

 

 

Niall gulps as they begin to walk.

 

 

 

“Well… that’s a lot of responsibility.”

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

Niall can safely say that, today is one of the best times of his life; well, that is if you count out how terrified Zayn was, riding the public transportation until he called it quits after they rode the subway the third time and he was squished between two obese, sweating women. He looked traumatized for life.

 

 

But beside that, they got to do so many things; crossing Central Park in a horse carriage, drinking hot chocolate at Madison Square, experiencing the epic-center of Time Square in all its glory, taking pictures at the Empire State building, a trip to the Metropolitan museum and as they ended their day with a delicious dinner with heat lamps and good wine, Niall knew he was in love with the city.

 

 

“I am in love with New York,” Niall sighs as he adjust the fedora on his head - he doesn’t know when and how, but at some point Zayn had given it to him and he isn’t complaining - and looks out at the view they have of the city.

 

 

“Then move here when you’re done with school,” Zayn suggests off-handedly as he gracefully takes a sip of his glass of wine.

 

 

“No, can’t do,” Niall shakes his head and puts some Italian pasta in his mouth; he takes his time chewing it and appreciating how good it is; he can eat 10 dishes of this. “I’d love to, but Princeton is my dream.”

 

 

“Princeton, huh?” Zayn asks interested. “That’s in New Jersey. It’s like an hour drive from here. You’ll be able to come here whenever you want.”

 

 

“I guess you’re right,” Niall smiles. “I can’t wait.”

 

 

When they get home later that night, Louis has yet to return and they’re greeted by the girls and the maids; the parents still oddly absent from the scene. They stay a little up, listening to music and talking about mindless topics until they go to bed; Louis still absent.

 

Niall stirs awake in the middle of the night to someone walking around the room. He crack his eye open sleepily and sees that Louis is back, he glances at the clock; it’s 3 in the morning. As Niall watches him strip down to his boxers and crawl into bed, he can’t help but wonder where he’d been all day.

 

The next morning they sleep in till late and once they wake up, they all go to have a delighting brunch before going down to business.

 

“This should be it,” Louis says when they reach the doors to Bouquet and pushes his sunglasses up in his hair. “I’ll do the talking, you do the watching.”

 

“No problem,” Niall says.

 

Louis then opens the door to the tiny shop, and bells tinkled overhead. Inside the sunlit store, the atmosphere is hushed. Along the lemon yellow walls are shallow shelves displaying all sorts of colorful stationery sets, thank-you cards and party invitations. Tall tables along the center of the room are bursting with fresh flowers in all the colors of the season: red roses, orange lilies, yellow daisies. At the back of the store are four long wooden tables, where a mother and daughter sat, poring over huge books of sample invitations. The woman helping them whispers her suggestions and instructions. This place feels like a museum itself.

 

"Can I help you?" a squat saleslady behind the counter asks.

 

She is practically wedged into her gray suit, and her dark hair is pulled back in a low ponytail. She wears no jewelry and, after giving the boys a quick once-over, didn't look very pleased at the prospect of dealing with a group of teenagers. Louis clears his throat and steps forward, and Niall is suddenly more than grateful for his presence. He hates dealing with snooty salespeople.

 

"Yes. We're trying to find out who ordered this invitation," Louis says, sliding the Legacy invite across the tall wooden counter.

 

The woman picks it up, turns it over for a cursory glance, then places it down again. She uses all four fingertips to slide it determinedly back to Louis.

 

"Sorry. All orders are confidential," she sniffs.

 

Louis looks the woman up and down, and for a brief moment Niall is afraid he is going to raise holy hell, but then he smiles. The sweetest, genuine smile Niall has ever seen him produce; and somehow, it looks wrong.

 

"I understand," he says, leaning closer. "It's just... this group of kids at our school?" he says, gesturing at Niall and Zayn over his shoulder. "They're throwing this exclusive party, and they're purposely leaving out all these other girls and boys, you know? Just because they're, like, a little chunky or have bad skin or come from the wrong families. It's, like, totally arbitrary. "

 

Niall almost bark out a laugh. Louis is doing a pitch-perfect imitation of one of Niall’s cousins back home; Jenny, sweet innocent Jenny who is Louis’ polar opposite. Niall turns his head to the side, biting the inside of his cheek and catches Zayn’s gaze. Zayn looks quite amused himself.

 

"That's awful!" the woman laments, suddenly sympathetic.

 

Unbelievable. In ten seconds Louis has read this woman perfectly and knows exactly what will make her crack.

 

"All we want to do is find out which girl is really orchestrating all this so that we can, you know, confront her," Louis continues pleadingly. "It's so unfair."

 

The woman looks all of them up and down. "Hang on. You three weren't invited?" she asks suspiciously.

 

Niall’s heart skips a beat. Clearly she has read Louis right back. He is far too gorgeous and well-dressed to be ostracized based on looks or money.

 

"No, no. We were invited," Louis says, turning his eyes down modestly; wow, this kid has a future as an actor. "That's why we have the invitation. It's just a lot of our friends were left out, and it's not like we'd go without them. We want to stand up to this girl on their behalf. There is a little thing called loyalty, you know? "

 

The woman still looks unconvinced. This isn’t going to work after all. Then Louis leans into the counter and looks earnestly into the woman's eyes.

 

"Look, two years ago, I never would have been invited. We're talking glasses, bad skin and overbite. Not a pretty sight."

 

Niall doesn’t believe any of that for a second, but he paints an interesting picture. He can’t picture Louis ever being left out; if anything, he is the one leaving people out and oh don’t forget, boots them off school when it pleases him.

 

"I know how it feels to be left out, and I'm just trying to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone I care about," Louis continues. "So can you help us?" The saleslady checks the back of the room, where her colleague is still engrossed.

 

"Okay. But if anyone asks, you didn't get this from me," she says.

 

She turns to her computer and quickly types in some information. Louis out his hand to them, behind him and out of sight, and Niall quickly swipes his palm across it.

 

"Ah, yes. I took this order myself," the woman whispers. "I remember this girl. Blond, thin, blue eyes. About your age, I'd say. She had this sort of odd, detached way about her. Sound familiar?"

 

Niall raises a brow. Doesn’t sound familiar at all. He looks at Zayn who shrugs in return.

 

"Maybe," Louis says. "Do you have her name?"

 

"Yes. It was--" The woman leans toward us and lowers her voice until it was barely audible. "Amanda Hold."

 

Louis’ eyes lit up, and he bits back a smirk. Did he know this girl? "Do you remember anything else?" he asks. "Was anyone with her? Or did she call anyone while she was here?”

 

"Actually, yes," the woman says, speaking in a more normal voice. "I remember she told someone on the phone that she was going to Ungari Jewelers later that day."

 

Louis slips the invite back into her bag. "Thank you so much, Miss... ?"

 

"Roxanne," the woman says, reaching her hand out to shake Louis’. "I hope this Amanda girl gets what's coming to her."

 

Louis smiles again, this time looking more like himself. "Oh, she will. Don't worry. We'll make sure of that."

 

 

"Nice work," Niall says impressed as they walk along Commonwealth.

 

 

"Easier than expected,” Louis says with a smirk.

 

"So who's Amanda Hold? You know her?"

 

Louis laughs. "Niall, please. Amanda Hold?" he looks at him in a leading way. Niall stares back confused.

 

 

"A. Man. To. Hold? Amanda Hold? It's one of the oldest aliases in the book,” Zayn supplies helpfully.

 

"Oh," Niall says, feeling stupid. "Why would someone use a fake name at a stationer?"

 

 

“Beats me,” Louis says, his eyes a little narrowed. “But I’ll find out. I always do,” he says confidently and swings open a large, silver door to a stately looking shop. Inside, the air is crisply cool, and everything is gray. Gray carpeting, gray walls, gray felt inside hundreds of gleaming glass cases. Everywhere Niall looks there are diamonds. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, amethysts and on and on. In one case there is a pink diamond the size of a quarter set into an ornate necklace of tiny white diamonds set to look like a string of flowers. Thousands of diamonds.

 

"Can I help you, gentlemen?” The elderly gentleman behind the counter speaks in a hushed baritone. Apparently rich people really like quiet in their stores.

 

"I'm here for Amanda Hold," Louis "She placed an order a couple weeks back and I just wanted to check on the status."

 

"Of course. This way," he says with a nod.

 

They follow him to a computer tucked away in a corner. A few keystrokes and an order pops up. "Yes. I see we have three hundred and twenty- five platinum money clips on order for you, as well as four hundred and seven gold rings. All etched with a single ! "

 

Niall looks on confused; where is all that going?

 

"Yes. That's right," Louis says.

 

"They should all be delivered to the address Miss Hold provided within the week," he tells Louis with a kind smile.

 

"Good, Miss Hold sent me to add to the order,” Louis says and reaches into his pocket and pulls a tiny piece of paper on which some numbers are scribbled. "We'll need fifty-three more money clips and sixty-five rings," He says. "And I'll be paying for those myself. Amanda's already done enough," he says with a charming smile

 

"Of course," the man says with another nod. "If I could just get your credit card and delivery information, Mr... ?"

 

"Tomlinson. Louis Tomlinson," Louis replies, slapping down his American Express Black.

 

Once the order is placed and they are back out in the fresh air, Niall voices his curiosity.

 

 

“What was all that?”

 

 

“The money clips and rings are the passes to get into the Legacy,” Louis explains, slipping his dark glasses back on. “I ordered for everyone in privilege, you included. It’s your lucky year, isn’t it?” Louis says and slings an arm around Niall shoulder.

 

 

Wow. Whoever hears about a party where the proof of invitations is gold rings and platinum money clips? Oh, and he is going?

 

 

“Sounds good,” He says.

 

 

“Good? I assure you, Horan. It’s so much better than good,” Louis says.

 

 

“But we still don’t know where the Legacy is held,” Zayn says.

 

 

“Don’t worry, my prince, we’ll find out,” Louis assures.

 

 

*

 

 

That night, Louis insists they go out clubbing and since he doesn’t take no for an answer, Niall finds himself in a club called Platinum, a place where nothing relates to the name aside from the fact that everyone there are constantly whipping out their platinum credit cards to pay for insanely overpriced bottles of alcohol.

 

 

After telling Niall that he should get what he wants on him, Louis disappeared into the partying crowd never to be seen again. Niall lost Zayn in the crowd a couple of hours later after he went to empty his bladder in the toilet.

 

 

Now, he is standing by the bar and nursing the same drink he has for the last hour; ever since that night in the wood with Whit, he is more wary of getting drunk. However as he stands there and watch everyone letting go, he thinks that maybe he should too. It’s his first time in New York and he just got an invite to the Legacy; things seem to be turning good and he should celebrate.

 

 

With that thought in mind, he downs the rest of his drink in one go and blends in with the moving crowd and lets himself have fun for what feels like the first time in ages. An hour later, more drinks later and sweating out all of the stress on the dance floor, Niall is at the counter again; this time far more relaxed and not to mention, drunk. There still is no sign of Zayn and Louis but Niall is far too relaxed to worry about a ride back to the Tomlinson household.

 

 

The bartender suddenly places a cocktail drink in front of him and Niall raises a brow. “I didn’t order that!” He shouts over the defeating music. The bartender merely thumbs to the other direction without a word. Niall follows the direction, squinting his eyes to make the haze go away. A little away an older college-aged guy stands, clearly checking Niall out and raises his glass when their eyes met and he’s well… wow.

 

 

He is hot.

 

 

Tall, dark, lean, tan with long black hair that just skimmed the bottom of his earlobe. He smiles at Niall, a perfect pearly-white smile with a set of straight teeth; Niall blushes, returning the smile. Mr. handsome takes that as his cue to come over, and he stops up, close to Niall; their arms brushing against each other.

 

 

“Hey,” He says, tilting his head to the side, his hair falling over his eyes.

 

 

“Hey,” Niall replies, bringing the drink to his mouth. “Thanks for the drink.”

 

 

“Anytime, babe,” the man says with a sexy smirk and then he looks Niall up and down with an obvious hungry gaze. “You here alone?”

 

“Here with friends, but they abandoned me,” Niall says.

 

“I see,” the man says and the suddenly he leans into Niall’s space, his thumb pressing into Niall’s side; he dips his head, so his mouth is against his ear. “Someone as cute as you shouldn’t be standing alone.”

 

 

Niall feels a rush of heat, and really, he must be more drunk that he originally thought, because _what is he doing_?! He has a boyfriend, goddamn it. His traitorous body shivers at the man’s cool breath. Niall is about to pull away, but the man curls his fingers around Niall’s waist and pulls him closer. Niall lets out a surprised yelp when a large hand comes down and squeezes his bum.

 

 

“What do you say we get out of here?” The man says, lightly biting down Niall’s earlobe. “I’ll take good care of you.”

 

 

Niall just stands there, frozen up, not sure how to react - evidence of how drunk he is - while the man gropes his ass.

 

“Hey,” A dark voice suddenly says, right behind Niall and a hand curls around his middle, pulling him back against a firm back; a too familiar cologne washes over him and he instantly relaxes.

 

Zayn. Thank god.

 

“Everything alright?” Zayn asks, not loosening his hold on Niall, and Niall tilts his face to the side to look at him; their eyes so close. “Yeah,” Niall says breathlessly. “Everything’s alright.” He looks back at the guy who has a sour expression; he eyes him and Zayn for a moment before disappearing into the mass of people on the floor.

 

As soon as he is gone, Zayn loosens his hold on Niall, not entirely letting go and Niall turns to face him.

 

“Thanks,” He says.

 

“What were you doing anyway?” Zayn asks, studying him. “You’re drunk aren’t you?”

 

 

“Nope,” Niall lies and takes a step away from Zayn, nearly tripping over his own feet. Zayn catches him.

 

“You’re drunk. Great,” He sighs. “Let’s get out of here.”

 

“Fine with me,” Niall slurs, smiling and clinging closer to Zayn than necessary. “Where’s Lou?”

 

“No idea,” Zayn says as he navigates Niall through the sweaty, writhing bodies, his eyes scanning the crowd. As if on cue, Louis pops up next to them. His hair is mused, his face flushed and his eyes swimming in their sockets; he is clearly drunk.

 

“Hey, just take the limo,” Louis says. “I’ll find my way back later.”

 

“You sure?” Zayn says skeptically and eyes his slightly disheveled clothes.

 

“Yup, don’t worry about me,” Louis says and at the exact same time a pretty girl appears next to him and he throws an arm around her, smiling down at her. “I’ll be fine.”

 

Niall frowns and through his blurry haze, he wonders what kind of weird relationship is between Louis and Harry. “Okay,” Zayn says and pulls Niall with him.

 

*

 

Niall is completely hammered, he knows. He also knows that being so close to Zayn can’t end well, because Niall’s self-control is anything but reliable in his current state. Especially when Zayn doesn’t let him go, making sure he doesn’t fall over his own feet.

 

 

They reaches Louis’ suite and Zayn releases him a bit. “Okay, we are here,” Zayn states and turns to look at Niall, and Niall breathes catches in his throat, because Zayn inky eyelashes are so long, his mouth looks so plump and soft and his eyes are such radiant amber. He is just so…

 

“You are gorgeous,” Niall whispers, peering into Zayn’s eyes with hazy blue. “So goddamn gorgeous.”

 

Zayn’s eyes widen slightly in obvious surprise and he eyes Niall uncertainly.

 

“Thanks,” he breathes, his hot breath fanning over Niall’s face, and Niall should just stop himself. He should stop himself before he regrets it; before he hurts the people he care about.

 

But he can’t, because Zayn is like a magnet and Niall is a piece of metal that can’t help but feel attracted to him.

 

He leans closer and Zayn doesn’t budge, just watches him with intense eyes. Niall moves tentative fingers across Zayn’s jaw and then he closes the distance between them; kissing him softly.

 

Zayn responds in a heartbeat, his fingers coming up and curling around Niall’s waist pushing the smaller boy flush against him. He quickly takes over the kiss, licking into Niall’s parted lips without permission, his tongue eagerly mapping out his mouth. Niall lets out quiet moan, his hand fisting Zayn’s hair. As their tongues move against each other, brushing and stroking, Zayn hands move around to rest at the small of Niall’s back before moving down and boldly taking a handful of Niall’s firm ass in his hand. Niall gasps at the unexpected contact, quickly followed by a moan when Zayn squeezes.

 

Somehow or another, they end up on the bed - Louis’ bed that is - Zayn slipping in between Niall’s thighs and peppering his neck and collarbones with wet kisses making Niall throw his head back and moan.

 

 

Niall is quite embarrassed when he feels the familiar twitch between his legs, but he can’t help it and Zayn is so _hothothot_ , he can’t think straight. He arches off the bed and smashes their hips together, their crotches colliding and Zayn lets out a breathy moan at the friction. Niall is near desperate for more friction so he frantically grinds up against Zayn until it hurts at the restraint. “Christ, Niall,” Zayn breathes against his neck and lifts his head, placing a sloppy kiss on the side of his mouth.

 

“Oh god, Zayn, Zayn.” Niall’s body is heating up with all the sensation coursing through him. As Zayn ruts against him in the most erotic manner, enticing moans from Niall, he can feel the heat starting to build up in his groin and he knows, embarrassedly enough, that he is close to release. “This is so wrong. This is so wrong.” Niall chants all the while moving his lips against Zayn and breathing all of him in, clinging to him.

 

“And it feels so good,” Zayn whispers, voice raspy, grounding his hips down on Niall’s; the constrictions of his pants so very painful. Niall is letting out the cutest moans and Zayn wants all of him; everything he has to offer, wants to hear him scream, wants to see him writhe, wants to feel him, but he can’t. Yet.

 

“Zayn, Zayn, Zayn,” Niall repeats over and over again, ducking his face and hiding it in the crook of his neck and he tries to breathe as he finally reaches his release, untouched. Sweating and panting, he bits down Zayn’s neck, and Zayn chokes on his breath; he whispers Niall’s name as he comes as well.

 

They fall against each other, panting heavily and Niall stares at Zayn through half-lidded eyes before letting out a small sigh and promptly passing out. “Seriously,” Zayn groans, his face falling into the pillow and doesn’t expect the wave of exhaustion to crash on top of him. Reluctantly, he falls asleep, still entangled with Niall’s body.

 

*

 

The next morning, Louis finds them like that and they wake up to him hovering over them with a judgmental stare.

 

 

“You fucked,” He says slowly. “On my freaking bed.”

 

Zayn groans and buries his face under a pillow while Niall blushes and splutters and denies everything.

 

 

“It’s not what it looks like!” Niall cries, appalled when the memories of last night rush back, hitting him like a train. He feels the bile rise in his throat and he leaps out of the bed and into the bathroom.

 

Niall wants to die. He wants to die and his body thrown in the sea. He can’t believe what he did. He can’t believe that he kissed Zayn. He can’t believe that he cheated on Josh.

 

Oh. God.

 

Niall doesn’t remember the last time he has felt quiet as repulsed by himself as then. He is sure there isn’t a more appalling human being on earth than him. How was he going to explain this to Josh? He would be crushed. It would ruin him, Niall knows. While Niall knew that someone was going to be hurt, he hadn’t imagined it would be like this.

 

Niall can’t look Zayn in the face. He knows the guilt will strangle him if he does. It doesn’t help that Louis keeps prodding the subject.

 

“Seriously though, did you guys actually fuck?”

 

 

“Shut up, Louis,” Zayn snaps and for once, Louis does as he is told, rolling his eyes as he sits back in the limo and sips to his ever-present glass of champagne.

 

 

The drive back to Prescott is tormenting; awkward and tense. Louis has given up on them and is loudly chatting to some friend from Paris. Niall’s gaze is stiffly focused on the outside; he can’t look at Zayn. He can feel Zayn glance at him every once in a while, but he can’t look at him. He can’t.

 

He is never drinking again. Ever.

 

“God, finally!” Louis exclaims when the gates of Prescott Academy hovers in the distance. “You guys are giving off a suffocating air. Dunno how I survived for this long.”

 

“What is that?” Zayn suddenly asks. Just inside the gate are two gruff-looking officers who scowl at them as they drive through. They’re stopped up and Louis’ roll down a window as one of them leans over.

 

“Students here?” He asks, his small eyes scrutinizing.

 

“Yeah,” Louis says. “Everything alright?”

 

The officer doesn’t ask and gives them a signal to continue. Suddenly a nerve-wrecking sense of dread washes over Niall’s body, and his whole being tenses; something is wrong, something is terribly wrong. He can feel it to his very core and everything inside of him is screaming for him to turn back.

 

Shaky on his feet, he steps out of the car and immediately notices the flashes of light on campus; blue, then red, then blue.

 

Police cars.

 

Police cars everywhere. On the grass. Between the dorms. In the quad. Every student in school is outside their dorms, whispering and looking around as cops in uniform circles among them, talking in low tones or shouting orders.

 

“What the fuck,” Zayn says under his breath.

 

Niall feels the blood leaves his face. Some of the students are sitting on the benches, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Others are crying. Three girls were hugging each other in front of the freshmen girl’s dorm. Somewhere nearby, someone is clearly sobbing.

 

Niall can’t move, feel like he can’t breathe. Neither Zayn nor Louis are moving either. They just stand there and stare at the unfamiliar scene before them.

 

“Niall!”

 

Niall whirls around and his heart all but stops when he sees Harry. Or more accurately sees his face. Anguished tears are streaming down his face and his hair is oddly flat and matted.

 

“Haz?” Louis says in a whisper. “What’s going on?”

 

Niall doesn’t like the way Harry is only looking at him. “Niall,” He says, breathing heavily. “I…I am so sorry… it’s Josh.”

 

His voice breaks.

 

“They found a body and…and…”Harry struggles to finish the sentence. “Josh is dead.”

 

Niall begs his heart to keep beating, begs his lungs to accept air. He looks down and catches sight of the clover necklace. He knows if he opens his mouth, he’ll begin to scream.

 

He’ll begin to scream and never be able to stop again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Farhin for proof-reading this chapter :)

Chapter 12

His first funeral. His first funeral isn’t for a grandparent or for a friend’s elderly aunt with wrinkles so deep you can stash stuff in them, but for Josh, Josh Devine. His first boyfriend at Prescott. 

Young, beautiful, lovely Josh.

So many moments keeps replaying in his mind; the first time Niall met Josh at the welcome party, the first time he kissed him to make Whit go away, the way he looked at him like Niall was his whole world, Josh confessing his love for him, the last time he saw Josh, so reluctant to let him go, the pout on his lips the _”I’ll miss you_ ”, and then the worst of them all; him hooking up with Zayn, dry-humping and kissing him while Josh was somewhere dying. Every time he thinks about it, it crushes him completely; he can feel the guilt and the emotions bubbling up in his throat, cloaking his breathing.

He gasps for breath.

He feels Harry’s fingers curl tighter around where it has been closed around his hand ever since Mrs. Devine started her speech at the service; he doesn’t stops squeezing until Niall almost loses feelings in it. He thinks how wonderful it would be if he lost feelings all over; if all the pain would just leave him, if he could just feel numb forever.

 

“Josh, my little boy,” Mrs. Devine mourns wistfully, her eyes rimmed red, her skin sickly pale even under all the make-up but her posture is still straight, still strong all the while Mr. Devine is slumped in a chair, head bowed; his big frame looking so, so small and crushed.

“As many of you already know, Josh was a philanthropist,” Mrs. Devine speaks and Niall’s heart pangs; he didn’t know, he didn’t know because he was busy being unfaithful, guilt surges through him hot and white; he squeezes Harry’s hand back, almost desperately. “Did you also know that he spent three weeks of his summer volunteering in Ghana, teaching kids English?”

Josh was perfect. Niall wishes they’d had more time together. He wishes he’d had more time to fall in love with him. he know he would. More than anything, he wishes he hadn’t left him for New York.

"Now, if you'll all adjourn to the shoreline outside... in a few minutes we'll be releasing Josh’s ashes at his favorite spot on the bluff. Thank you," Mrs. Devine says, mustering a small, heartbreaking smile.

The guests begin to stir. Niall’s knees quarks as he stands up and he has to lean into Harry’s taller frame to steady himself.

“Niall? Are you alright?” Harry asks him, holding him up. 

Liam, Louis and Zayn all stops up and look at him with worried eyes. They haven’t budged from his side ever since the tragic news was dropped on them, like they are afraid he might break down and never recover; which is a really good possibility of happening soon.

“Yeah, I-“

“Niall? Niall Horan?” Mrs. Devine interrupts having stepped down the podium and overheard Harry. 

Niall hearts all but stops and he musters all his strength to look the woman in the eye; into those sad, sad grey-brown that makes the guilt come slamming down on him. The other boys stay behind as the guests fill out the room, though keeping a respectful distance.

“Y-yeah?” He all but squeaks, and is surprised when Mrs. Devine’s features softens and a genuine smile spread across her lips.

“I am so happy to meet you, though I wish it was under different circumstances,” she says and takes Niall’s hand between her bony ones. “All Josh talked about for the last few weeks was you. I almost feel like I already know you.”

“H-he did…” Niall says hoarsely though he isn’t all that surprised. Of course, he did. Josh was completely lost in him.

“I never saw him sound so happy about anyone like he did you,” Mrs. Devine says, squeezing Niall’s hand. “I know it must be very hard on you, but I hope you know, he loved you very much.”

A bubble rises in Niall’s throat, cutting off his air supply. He can feel the hot swell of the tears as they gathers in his eyes and the heavy guilt weighing him down. He tilts his face to the floor and concentrates on his shoes; he can’t look her in the eye. He wonders how she would look at her if she knew that he’d cheated on him; with revulsion, doubtlessly.

“Mrs. Devine… I am sorry…I-I didn’t mean...” He croaks, his vision blurring. Harry steps forward as if to comfort him or hug him and he snaps back to reality. What is he trying to say? that he didn’t mean to cheat on her son? That he didn’t love him the way he should? Has he completely lost his mind?

“You didn’t mean what, dear?” Mrs. Devine asks, looking confused and worried. Niall swallows and shakes his head.

“N-Nothing… nothing, I-I am just sorry…” He says, voice trembling and heaves for air.

“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Devine says and pulls him in for a tight hug. Niall returns it the best he can, all the while fighting back the impending breakdown. Mrs. Devine fishes out a tissue from her purse and hands it to him. he uses it to wipe away a single, wayward tear.

“Don’t use too much time thinking, Niall, you’re still so very young. Live your life to its fullest,” Mrs. Devine squeezes his shoulder, looking off into the distant. “Now, let’s go outside and join the others. I am sure they are ready for us.” Mrs. Devine gives him a last, painful smile before ducking her head and walking out.

“Hey, come on,” Harry says softly, putting an arm around him, and Liam comes up, placing a comfortable hand on the small of his back and even with them there, flanking him, he has never felt more alone.

*

Outside on the bluff, the pastor finishes his speech, and Josh’s parents stepped forward to lift the gold urn from the white lace cloth on which it had been sitting during the service. They walk out onto the bluff with the container between them, walk out almost to the breakers, to where the water collides with the earth. Mrs. Devine says something to her husband. He replies with a nod. Then he opens the urn and a huge cloud of black ash pours out, whipped up by the wind.

 

Behind Niall someone wails. He can’t get himself to turn around and see who it is. He feels something inside of him start to shake. Like his ribs are crumbling around his heart. He leans into Harry’s side; Harry who has been by his side since the start of this horrible morning. Harry doesn’t say anything just holds him tightly to his side. Niall can feel Harry’s tears through his mop of hair. Out of everyone, Harry has been the one to cry the most; the tears slipping out of his eyes seemingly never-ending. Looking so small and young and vulnerable; Niall would comfort him if he wasn’t struggling himself.

 

Louis is quieter than ever; his usually tan skin oddly pale and his mouth pressed into an ever-present thin line. Liam tries to appear strong but it’s clear he is seconds away from curling into a ball and crying. And Zayn. Niall doesn’t know. He can’t ever look at Zayn without being reminded of what he has done. What they have done. Niall knows Zayn is feeling the same; feeling the all destroying guilt, maybe not as intense, but enough.

 

They all look shaken up. Like they’ve just realized that they aren’t quite as invincible as they’ve thought. Like they’ve been waken up from a dream world, a dream world where they are completely untouchable. But they have just lost one of their own; reality is setting in.

 

On the bluff Mr. Devine drops to his knees. The urn falls away and rolls until it hit Mrs. Devine’s feet. Several people--family members, it seems--move forward to help. The rest of watch the last of Josh's ashes as they are scattered by the wind.

 

And then it is over. The last speck is gone, and the crowd begins to disperse. Niall to breathe through the crushing weight on his chest and looks up in the sky. Just then, something tiny and cold lands on his nose. He blinks, confused and distracted for the moment. When he looks back up, he sees white drops falling from the sky.

 

Snow.

 

It was the year’s first snow and on Josh’s funeral. More than a few people stop up surprised and turn their eyes to the sky watching snowflake after snowflake waltz across the sky.

 

Niall loves snow but now, he knows he’ll forever remember this day whenever he sees snow.

 

*

“Well at least that is over,” Danielle says when they are sitting in a limo on their way back home. She has opted for a fresh face without makeup today; it makes her look somehow softer and younger. She closes an arm around herself and leans into Liam’s side; he rubs her arm comfortingly.

“It’s not over. Josh is still dead,” Perrie says flatly and everyone winces slightly. Just like her friend, she isn’t wearing make-up, her hair product-free, falling into soft waves around her face. Without the usual eye-makeup and with her hands between her knees; she looks like a little school girl waiting for her mom to pick her up.

Niall ignores the squeezing of his heart as he rests his forehead against the window. Zayn shoots Perrie a look as if she said something inappropriate, but she is right. Josh is gone. Forever. The misery has just begun.

“I just wish the police would tell us more,” Louis says, some color has returned to his cheeks and he is staring at the champagne in his hand like he isn’t quite sure where he got it from. “They probably don’t know a thing.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time the police effed things up,” Danielle puts in.

“Maybe we should talk about something else,” Harry says wide-eyed and shoots Niall a concerned glance. Louis ignores him and goes on.

“Do you guys think some of his former drug buddies had anything to do with it?” Louis asks.

No one moves; in fact, everyone seems to freeze in place. Their wide, shocked eyes snap in Niall’s direction, and Niall is staring at Louis. what did Louis just say?

“For fuck’s sake, _Louis_ ,” Zayn hisses through his teeth and suddenly, Louis seems to have realized his mistake and he goes a little pale, concentrating on his drink.

“Drug buddies?” Niall repeats, voice oddly small.

“Nothing,” Harry quickly says but not before giving Louis a withering glare. “It’s nothing. Anyway, did I tell you guys I am going for a new tattoo?”

“Oh, really?” Liam plays along. “What do you have in mind?”

Niall will have none of it. Like he could care what tattoo Harry is getting in the current circumstances, not when Louis just dropped a bomb. He continues to stare at Louis, not letting his thoughts reach conclusions.

“Drug buddies,” He repeats more insistently. “What do you mean drug buddies?” Josh had been clean, Josh didn’t do drugs, so what is Louis talking about?!

Louis doesn’t meet everyone’s mind, he looks around the vehicle, his eyes coming on a rest on Harry. Harry who is giving him a hard stare that clearly dares him to open his mouth again.

“What? I didn’t know he didn’t know!” Louis defends himself, his gaze turning into an annoyed glare.

“Or maybe you didn’t care enough to stop up and think for a second,” Harry says, and Louis looks a little put off.

“What didn’t I know!?” Niall exclaims, impatient and desperate. Louis finally meets his eyes. “What didn’t I know, Louis?”

Louis looks around again.

“He is going to find out anyway,” Louis speaks. “And what’s the big deal? Josh is gone.”

“Louis!” Zayn snaps.

“Look, Josh had some problems last year, okay?” Louis says, ignoring everyone’s stare. “The kid was obviously bored so he got involved with the wrong crowd. He used to sell drugs just for the hell of it; it wasn’t like he needed the money. One bad thing led to another until his parents found out and he was sent to some facility in Vermont. His mother forgot to mention that little detail about his summer.”

“Oh my god,” Harry says, staring at Louis in shock. “I can’t believe you sometimes.”

Meanwhile, Niall feels like world drops from under his feet. He won’t believe it, won’t believe it; sweet, gentle Josh as a pusher? No, it couldn’t be true, it couldn’t. this only trigger thoughts he has kept at bay for the last couple of days. Thoughts that he has forced himself not to think about. Because whenever he did, his imagination conjured horrible things. Things that makes his stomach clench and makes him come short of breath. and this piece of information didn’t make it better. Suddenly, hundreds of gruesome grudge murders and torture scenes flashes before his mind; Josh dying in some twisted, excruciating way at the hands of some red-eyed druggie psycho.

Niall feel’s his stomach flip and an overwhelming nausea hits him. His hands flies to cover his mouth. “Stop the car,” He croaks weekly. “What?” Louis asks confused. “ _Stop_ the car!” Niall says louder and Louis eyes widens in understanding when he sees Niall’s expression. Liam is closest so he slides open the glass window separating the from the driver and shouts for him to stop. The limo comes to a screeching halt and Niall stumbles out.

He bends over and throws up.

*   
Everybody is looking at Niall. Everybody is staring like they are salivating for the nervous break-down they are sure he is going to have. Niall won’t give them that satisfaction. If he is going to break down then it is going to be in the security of his own room.

A couple of uneventful days have passes since Josh’s funeral, and Niall has hardly slept, hardly eaten, hardly talked no matter how much his friends have tried to make him talk about it. It has been uneventful aside from the fact that several kids have been taken out of school by their parents. Niall had to beg his father not to pull him out and after an hour-long phone conversation, he had relented. Zayn had an argument with his father, though Niall couldn’t understand a word he spoke, he could tell from the heated tone; later he found out that the king wanted Zayn to come home, because he doesn’t think Zayn is safe there. In the end, Zayn won the argument and his father had reluctantly let him stay. It is eerie seeing the sedans and limos idled in the circle in front of the dorms, the students being escorted with their bags while their parents looks around suspiciously, as if some masked killer is suddenly going to come shrieking out of the shadows. No one has officially said that Josh's death has been suspicious in nature, but it is clear that is what people want to assume. Niall’s heart tightens and releases as he thinks of him. This is all it ever does anymore and he wonders if it is going to affect his long-term health.

Cops are still present on campus and they are making Niall more on edge than they make him feel safe.

Niall is currently sitting in the empty cafeteria, he is early, and staring at the cheerios in the bowl before him expand as they soak up the milk. He hasn’t been able to close an eye so as soon as he could, he got out of his room and waited on the steps of the cafeteria, waited for it to be open. He has learned that the cafeteria manager doesn’t appreciate finding something cold sitting there.

The door to the cafeteria opens and Niall looks up, an image of Josh flashes before his mind. But of course it isn’t Josh, it’s Jordan. It’s never going to be Josh. Josh is gone.

Niall gasps for breath.

“Hey, you alright?” Jordan slides into the seat next to him and eyes him concerned. Niall manages a brave smile.

“Y-Yeah…” He says and Jordan’s lips curls up in a sad smile. He reaches over and rubs Niall’s shoulder. He doesn’t say anything which is weird since Jordan always has something to say. he just sit silently with Niall and Niall is grateful; his presence is somewhat comforting. Jordan doesn’t leave until the cafeteria begins to fill up and the inhabitants of the table arrive.

“Hey, if you wanna talk, I’m here, yeah?” He says before leaving and Niall musters a small smile, nodding.

“I know.”

*

Niall shouldn’t be here. He should be far, far away, but he just needs somewhere to go. He can’t stand all the stares, all the pitiful stares, all the whispers behind his back, he can’t stand his friend’s never-ending questions though they mean good, it’s suffocating him.

He doesn’t know anywhere else to go, and that’s how he ends up in the art cemetery. The door is open and he doesn’t know how he feels at the possibility of Zayn being there; he isn’t sure if he is ready to look him in the eye just yet. When he pushes open the door, he is met with an empty room; he feels a twinge of disappointment.

He loosens his scarf and walks further into the room. He looks around at the paintings trying to summon some calm but then his eyes stops on a painting and his world comes to a screeching halt. Standing on an easel, directly across from him is his own image. Zayn’s painting of him. Completed to the last eyelash. It takes his breath away.

Niall approaches the painting with slow, cautious steps like he is afraid it might disappear if he moves too fast. He stops in front of it and it’s unlike anything he has ever seen. It is amazing, almost eerie how much it looks like him.

His lips are pulled up on one side in a sort of knowing smile. His pale skin is practically glowing, and the smattering of dark freckles across the bridge of his nose actually looks sweet to him. But it is the eyes that kill him. They swirls with at least five shades of blue and has delicate gold flecks painted subtly through them. Is this what he really looks like to Zayn? Did he really think Niall is this . . . beautiful?

Niall doesn’t know how long he takes to stare at the painting but he is startled when the door creaks open. He swirls around and is met with Zayn’s wide surprised eyes. Snowflakes are twinkling in his dark hair and his nose is faintly red; it seems it has begun snowing again, Niall tries to ignore the pang in his chest.

Niall doesn’t say anything, just turn around and looks at the painting. Zayn slowly steps up next to him, also gazing at the painting. They are quiet for a moment.

“You like it?” Zayn asks softly, sounding a tad nervous and glancing at Niall from the corner of his eye.

“It’s…beautiful,” Niall admits, careful to keep his gaze on his image. He knows one thing for sure, his eyes are definitely not as bright anymore, definitely not as alive; more dull and unseeing.

There’s a beat of silence and then;

“Just like you.”

At that, Niall can’t fight it and looks at Zayn. Zayn is looking back at him, his gaze cautious like he isn’t sure what Niall’s reaction will be. Niall isn’t sure either. Sure, he is flattered, but what exactly is going on here? What exactly are they doing? Zayn has a girlfriend and Niall’s boyfriend just died under mysterious circumstances.

Niall breathes in and looks away from Zayn’s eyes. He walks over and ungracefully dumps down on the couch. He leans forward and buries his face in his hand. Zayn comes over and sits next to him, his warm hand falls down on Niall’s knee. “Are you alright?” He asks concerned, and Niall looks up at him. they look at each other for a long moment and then, Zayn’s gaze falls on Niall’s lips. Niall’s heart drop, _no, don’t, please_ he begs silently but Zayn doesn’t hear. He leans in and kisses Niall.

And really, that does it for Niall. his throat closes and his eyes stings. He jerks away from Zayn and he tries to get hold of himself, but he can’t. The tears flows and he breaks down.

“Oh crap,” Zayn breathes. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to… I.”

“N-no…it’s just…he’s…he’s…he’s dead and I-I,” Niall sobs heavily, hiding his face in his sleeve. “I shouldn’t…I shouldn’t now…I shouldn’t have left…”

“Hey, hey,” Zayn whispers and reaches out, pulling Niall into him and Niall allows it, burying his face in Zayn’s chest and cries like there’s no tomorrow. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known this would happen. None of us could. Don’t blame yourself,” He says as he holds Niall close and cards his fingers through his hair.

Niall tries to stop but the hot tears keeps coming and coming. He chokes and gasps and tries to swallow. “This shouldn’t be happening. This shouldn’t be happening.” All he can see is Josh’s smiling face. Niall is never going to see his smile again. never. He can’t believe it. He chokes for air and his throats burn.

“I know, I know, I know” Zayn repeats over and over again and his voice sounds oddly raspy like he is fighting down his own emotions. He clutches Niall to him and breathes in deeply. “I know.”

Finally, for what feels like ages later, Niall’s sobs quiets down to sniffles and he pulls away from Zayn. He wipes his eyes with his fingertips. Zayn is looking at him, his eyes worried and sad, and Niall can just imagine how he looks; like a disaster, just like he feels.

Zayn silently hands him a napkin and Niall takes it and blows in it. He sucks in a few broken breaths and tries to breathe normally.

The quiet is shattered by Zayn’s phone beeping. He shoots Niall an apologetic look before fishing it out and looking at it. He frowns as he reads the text.

“We should get back to the dorm, there’s some kind of meeting,” He says as he pushes himself to his feet. He offers Niall a hand and pulls him to his feet. He studies him for a moment.

“You feel a bit better?” He asks.

And Niall nods, surprisingly, he does.

Without another word, they walk back to the dorm. Outside, the whole world is enveloped in pure white and it’s almost blinding. Niall can’t appreciate its beauty and just hangs his head as he trudges through the snow alongside Zayn.

When they enter privilege house, they see that everyone is gathered in the common room. Before them stands headmistress Mrs. Jensen with a rather strict impression. She eyes Zayn and Niall as they walk in.

“Thanks for joining us, Mr. Horan and Mr. Malik,” She says, a slight tone of disapproval in her voice though her gaze softens a little when she looks at Niall doubtlessly noticing his puffy, red eyes.

Niall takes off his scarf and scans the room for a place to sit. Harry waves him over, patting a tiny space between himself and Liam. Niall walks over and squeezes himself in. Harry squeezes his shoulder, studying him with a worried expression. “What’s going on?” Niall mouths and Harry merely shrugs his shoulders.

“Now that you’re all here, I can let you know why I gathered you for this private gathering,” The headmistress says as she looks over the most privileged teens of campus. “I am aware that the annual Legacy party is scheduled for the end of this month.”

Murmurs skitters through the students as they sends each other quizzical gazes. Mrs. Jensen waits for the murmurs to die down.

“As you all know, the administration has been willing to look the other way when it comes to this even,” Mrs. Jensen continues. “But this year it will be different.”

“As you all are aware off, we’ve gone through a terrible loss,” She says and Niall squirms when her gaze rests on him for a second longer than necessary. Harry grabs hold of his hand and squeezes. “We’ve lost one of our beloved students. And we’re all mourning this tragedy. Therefore, the administration has decided to take the student’s security more seriously. Nobody is allowed to leave campus on the night of thirty-first,” Mrs. Jensen ignores the communal gasp. “If anyone attempts to leave campus, rest assured that I will know about it, that those students will be stopped and the punishment will be severe.”

Nobody makes a sound. Just stares at the headmistress like they can’t believe what she is saying.

“This is my school, I make the rules and you follow them,” She says and it doesn’t pass Niall’s attention how she looks directly at Louis with those words; Louis looks back, silent but his gaze defiant.

“That was all,” She says, mustering a tight smile. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.” And then she turns on her heels and leaves.

There’s a beat of silence, and then everybody practically goes nuts.

“Oh my god! She can’t be serious!”

“Why is everyone trying to get us this year?!”

“This just isn’t our year, is it?”

“This is bullshit!”

“Like she can stop us! If we want to go we’re going!”

“Exactly,” Louis says, rising to his feet and the voices quiets down as he pushes himself to his feet. “Prescott is going to the Legacy, no matter what.”

There’s collective hoots, and Niall is appalled; beyond appalled. How can they worry about some party when their friend just died less than a week ago? How can they think about something so superficial?

“I already got the passes in the mail,” Louis reveals and everyone seems to beam; Niall feels sick to his stomach. “I’ll pass them out later tonight.”

More hoots and applause.

Niall is on his feet before he knows of it.

“You’re all sick, you know that!?” He snaps, glaring around. “All of you are sick! Josh is dead and all you can think about is parties? What’s the matter with you!?”

The room turned deadly quiet. Everyone is staring at him. Some look away in guilt, a few girls looks at each other disturbed, as if Niall is being embarrassing. Niall looks at Louis. Louis is looking at him with mild annoyance. Fine, if Niall is the one saying something wrong here, he will just leave. He can’t stand being around them right now.

He takes one last disgusted look around and his eyes fall on Zayn. Zayn who has Perrie in his lap. Zayn who kissed him just a little ago. They have no moral. None of them.

Niall turns around and storms off.

Liam is the one who comes after him. He slips into the elevator just before it closes and eyes Niall with caution. Niall can’t look at him. He is no better. never was.

“I know you have every right to feel ill about them, Niall,” He says. “But you have to understand. It’s their way off venting; their way of dealing with things out of their control.”

“Please,” Niall sneers. “All you are is a bunch of immoral, spoiled, superficial brats!”

Niall regrets it the second it leaves his mouth and Liam’s eyes spill open in a hurt look, looking like a kicked puppy than anything. But Niall’s pride is in the way, so he doesn’t apologize and storms out as soon as the elevator doors open.

*

Niall arrives to the morning service the next morning seconds before the door closes. He feels dozens of eyes follow his progress up the aisle and the whispers intensifies in his wake. Suddenly, he wishes he stayed at the cafeteria. Ducking his head, he slides into the small space at the end of the junior pews, right next to Jordan.

“Hey,” Jordan says quietly. “You okay?”

“Good,” Niall lies and stares stiffly ahead.

At the microphone, Mrs. Jensen clears her throat and the students grow silent.

“Students, as we all know we lost one of our own this week,” Mrs. Jensen says and looks over the crowd. “It is as one that we will work through this tragedy and we won’t let it hold us back from our original goal. Therefore, I ask of you not to lose your cool when I tell you that the police will be holding interviews concerning the deceased’s death.”

The chapel explodes into noise and Niall’s inside goes cold. There is no doubt what Mrs. Jensen had just said. If Josh died under ‘natural’ circumstances then there would be no need for police interviews. Niall can’t breathe, he can’t heart the rest of Mrs. Jensen’s words over the sound of his erratic heartbeat.

Josh was murdered.

There is a murder on campus.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“… I heard that the administration upped the security,” Jeremy leans over and says quietly to Louis.

 

“Yeah, the place is going to be crawling with the police and security guards,” one of the girls says and blows out a sigh. “It will be impossible to sneak out.”

 

“They are watching us like hawks,” Linh says. “How are we going to get past all this security?”

 

They are talking about the Legacy. Of course. Niall’s hands tighten around the history book in his lap and he tries not to snap. He is currently cramming for the history quiz that morning. Or more like attempting to. He has been reading the same line for the last ten minutes all the while trying not to set the whole cafeteria on fire.

 

“This is going to be the most boring Halloween ever!” Amanda sighs dramatically. “What are we supposed to do? Sit indoors and watch re-runs on the TV.”

 

“What a superb way of spending Halloween,” Another girl puts in, sarcastically as she inspects her manicured nails.

 

There’s a sudden loud laugh and then Stacy Stone appears at the end of the table, dangerously close to where Louis is eating breakfast. Everyone’s eyes turn to snap towards her, Niall included. Her raven hair is pulled back from her angular face and she is wearing big silver, straight-drop earrings, too many buttons are undone on her shirt. She looks around at them with clear disdain in her dark, piercing gaze.

 

"You people are unbelievable," she says. "Poor little rich kids can't have their party? Aw. How pathetic. One of your best friends was just murdered in cold blood, and this is all you can talk about?"

 

Niall feels a wave of nausea hit him hard and he gasps for breath; no, she did _not_. Everyone might be thinking, but no one has ever voiced it before. Hearing it in her loud, clear voice makes Niall feel sick inside.

“Shut the fuck up, Stacy,” Louis snaps, his eyes a sea of storm and he rises to his full length to glare Stacy down. Stacy returns his glare with one of her own, her hand on her hips. “Don’t you even dare pretend like you knew or cared about Josh.”

"You're right. I didn't," she says. "So what does it tell you that I seem to care more about the fact that he’s dead than you do?”

 

Her gaze slides over the table in silent judgment before she turns and strides away. Niall’s stares at Josh’s empty chair, his heart heavier than a concrete slab. He might not know Stacy Stone, but right then he couldn’t have agreed with her more.

 

“Bitch,” Louis mutters under his breath as he sits back down. “She is going down. I swear to God.”

 

That doesn’t sound good at all. Niall isn’t going to get himself dragged into whatever Louis has in mind for the poor girl.

 

He feels eyes on him and he looks up to see a pair of freshmen girls who are staring at him. Niall glares annoyed and they blushes, looking away and scurries off; God, what is so intriguing about him that they have to stare _all the freaking time_?

 

Then there’s a sudden change in conversation, and Niall feels his breath come short.

 

“So, did any of you get interviewed yet?” Amanda says quietly and looks around. Everyone shakes their head.

 

“I heard they are beginning with the freshmen and working their way up,” Danielle says, and Niall feels a tiny bit of relief; he is a junior and this school is big, that means they won’t be coming for him anytime soon. He has been extremely on the edge ever since Mrs. Jensen announced that the police are going to interview them. 

 

And the more people they interview, the more the Prescott academy rumor mill takes a life of its own. Everywhere Niall goes, everyone is asking everyone else what they know, what they ‘d heard and yet no one seems to know anything. It is all very frustrating. The longer they goes without a clue, the more panicked the vibe becomes, until Niall feels like kinetic energy of the student body might actually cause a nuclear meltdown.

frankly, he is surprised he hasn’t been pulled out of class yet. Hadn’t these officers figured out that Josh had a boyfriend? Weren’t boyfriend/girlfriends the first ones to be interviewed in murder cases like these?

 

Murder.

 

Niall visibly shuddered. Who could have killed Josh and _why_? was that person lurking somewhere waiting to kill of another innocent kid?

 

“You cold?” Harry asks next to him, and Niall shakes his head. He glances at the clock, it’s almost time for the morning’s first class. He gathers his things and without waiting for anyone else, he leaves.

*  
“So, have you heard anything?” Jordan asks, sliding into the seat next to him in trig class, the last class of the day (thank god, Niall feels like he might collapse from lack of sleep any minute now. he is running on pure caffeine)

 

“No,” Niall replies and tries to keep his eyes open. He looks at Jordan. “You?”

 

“I heard that they kept Lance Reagan in there for hours,” Jordan says, leaning into Niall. “And apparently, Emma Black came out in tears.”

 

Niall doesn’t recognize either names.

 

“Emma Black?” He repeats.

 

“Apparently some ex-girlfriend, I think.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Just then, Mr. Crandle walks in followed by another unfamiliar teacher. Niall and Jordan turn away from each other, turning to face forward. As whispers start to run rampant in the class, Niall’s heart all but stops.

 

That isn’t a teacher.

 

“Mr. Horan, this is detective Palmer,” Mr. Crandle says. “He’d like to speak to you. Please, gather your things and go with him.”

 

Everyone turns to gape at him like they haven’t known this would happen; though Niall hadn’t thought it would be so soon. His hands are trembling as he gathers his books. He glances at detective Palmer, a short stocky man in a wrinkled shirt and cotton tie who stands at the front of the room, his hands behind his back and his razor sharp eyes brown eyes watching Niall’s every move.

 

Gulp.

 

Guilt. That’s what he feels, but guilt of what? Cheating on his boyfriend? Well, smack on the shackles and take him to guillotine. 

 

He manages to rise out of his seat without his knees knocking together too much. He glances at Jordan who shoots him a smile and a thumbs up. Niall can’t even return the smile and he joins the detective.

 

“Hello, Niall,” He says, his voice so deep that it makes his bones rumple.

 

“Hello.” Fuck, why does he sound so guilty?

 

Detective Palmer raises a hand to usher him out before him.

 

“You can make up the test tomorrow, Mr. Horan,” Mr. Crandle says helpfully. Niall blinks at him. He totally forgot that there is a test today. Oh well.

 

Like he cares about it right at the moment.

 

*

“There’s nothing to be nervous about, Niall,” Detective Palmer says, and Niall stops chewing his fingernails and sits up straighter.

 

“I am not nervous,” he says though the slight waver in his voice ruins it.

 

“Will you like something to drink?”

 

“No thank you.” He musters a smile for detective Palmer and chief - chief Shaun. Behind him is Miss Clara who is there to act as a student advocate apparently.

 

“So, we understand that you and Mr. Devine have been dating,” Detective Palmer says, glancing at a piece of paper in front of him.

 

“Yeah.” Niall sits a little straighter to peek at what is on the paper.

 

“For how long?” the detective asks and pulls the paper closer to him. the chief shits, placing an arm around his stomach and rest his elbow on it, hand under chin.

 

Niall doesn’t know how to answer that, because how long had they really been dating? It depends. Does he count in the days they were pretending to date or just when they really started dating?

 

They stare at him when he doesn’t answer immediately so he clears his throat.

 

“We started dating at the end of week 4 of school,” Niall says finally. He squirms when the detective and chief exchange a look. Detective Palmer looks back at the paper.

 

“According to our sources, you’ve been dating since week 3,” detective Palmer says and looks at Niall with his piercing gaze. Niall heart drops. Who told them that?

 

“It wasn’t official until the end of week 4,” Niall replies. He doesn’t want to tell them about Whittaker. No way.

 

The detective and chief shares another look; Niall wishes they would stop doing that.

 

“Okay. Were you serious?” He asks, and Niall’s jaw clenches slightly. What is that supposed to mean?

 

“Define serious,” Niall shoots back. How could he have gotten serious when they barely dated for a week?

 

The detective smiles indulgently.

 

“How well did you know him?” Detective Palmer asks.

 

“I don’t know,” Niall shrugs. “Pretty well, I guess. But everyone has their secrets.”

 

The detective perks up at that and Niall almost bites his tongue off. Why did he say that?

 

“They do?” Detective Palmer says. “Did he tell you his secrets, Niall. maybe if he was in trouble?”

 

“No, he didn’t,” Niall breathes and wonders if Josh had been in trouble, he hadn’t looked like it at least. 

 

“When was the last time you saw, Josh Devine?” The detective asks.

 

“Friday afternoon,” Niall replies.

 

The detective seems to find this interesting.

 

“I understand you left campus on Friday afternoon, where did you go?” The detective asks, and Niall wonders who has given him that tad piece of information. Who is it, pointing fingers at him?

 

“New York,” Niall replies.

 

“With who?”

 

Niall is fairly sure they already know, but he replies nonetheless.

 

“Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik.”

 

“You didn’t leave New York while there?” detective Palmer asks and Niall feels his palm sweat. What is the man implying?

 

“No.”

 

“Did Mr.Devine contact you while you were in New York.”

 

“No.” Niall replies again.

 

The detective and the chief stares at him for a long, long moment. Long enough for him to start to sweat. Long enough to imagine what it might feel like to be loaded into the back of a police cruiser and taken downtown for further questioning.

 

“Okay then, Mr. Horan,” The chief says. “Thank you for your time.”

 

*

 

When Niall walks out of the office he feels hollow. He feels like he have been used up, wrung dry, and tossed aside. He feels like he needs a 10-hours nap. He shuts the door behind him, leans back against the cool brick wall, and lets out a breath. He looks up at the ceiling, where a frosted-glass light fixture hums.

 

“You okay?”

 

Louis stands up from the wooden bench directly across the hall, studying him closely.

 

“What are you doing here?” Niall asks, heart in his throat, he thought he was alone.

 

“Thought I would check up on you,” He says with a slightly raised brow like he is trying to say “duh”. “Heard you were up next and I figured it might be difficult on you.”

 

Niall is a little surpised; lately, he has gotten a not so likeable vibe from Louis, like ever since a couple of nights ago when he called all of them sick. He is surprised that out of everyone he is the one there for him. he isn’t ungrateful, however.

 

“I…uhm, thanks,” Niall says and a smile quirks up his lips. Louis smile and tilts his head to the side.

 

“No problem, let’s get out of here before Ms Caroline sees me, she’s been trying to snag me all year,” Louis says and turns on his heels, hands shoved into his pockets. Niall falls into steps with him.

 

“Do you have to be back for class?” Louis asks.

 

“No, got the rest of the class of,” Niall says, showing him his yellow slip.

 

“Sweet,” Louis hums. “I am craving caffeine and sugar. Want to go to the café?”

 

“Sure,” Niall says, noticing that he is in fact quite hungry. He has about a dozen questions for Louis. Like how he knew it had been Niall’s turn - he seems to know everything, all the time - and how he got out of class and why Ms. Caroline was trying to snag him all year. He doesn’t ask any of them.

 

Silently, they exit through the double doors and onto the open, slightly cold air; all the ice had melted and the naked trees and bushes are quite depressing. Louis is only wearing a sweater and is shivering slightly; Niall wonders where he forgot his coat.

 

“So, how did it go?” Louis asks, picking up his pace along the flagstone path and digging his hands deeper into his uniform pants. 

 

“It was okay, I think. A little nerve-wracking,” Niall says.

 

Louis glances at him, his eyes studying. “Really? What did they ask you?”

 

“Probably what they asked everyone else,” Niall shrugs off-handedly.

 

“Don’t think so,” Louis says, another shiver running through his body and he dips his head, burying his nose in collar of his sweater. “You were the boyfriend after all.”

 

“Yeah, you’ve got a point,” Niall mutters.

 

“Hey, look, don’t worry about the police, yeah?” Louis says. “You told them what you had and you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

 

“Yeah, thanks, Louis,” Niall says, smiling; he knew Louis is putting in effort to comfort him. the fact alone was comforting. Maybe Louis didn’t dislike him as much as he though. “Really. I am glad you waited for me.”

 

“Ah, don’t do that,” Louis says with a wry smile. “I don’t do sappy.”

 

Niall laughs as Louis whips open the doors to the café.

 

“Got it.”

 

*

 

“Hey, Niall,” Louis says when he has swallowed down the doughnut he’d been eating and Niall looks at him over his French vanilla. “Yeah?”

 

Without a word, Louis slides a small velvet box over the table, and Niall’s heart drops as a memory crosses his mind. He tries to ignore the dull pain and looks at Louis confused.

 

“Louis? What is this?” 

 

“Open and find out,” Louis says and interlaces his fingers, resting his chin on it and peering at Niall, gauging his reaction. Niall nervously reaches for the box and with slightly shaky fingers, he opens it.

 

Inside is a single platinum money clips is inside. For a single second, Niall is perplexed but then it hits him and his eyes immediately harden as they snap up to glare at Louis.

 

“You can’t be serious,” He bits out and is about to gather his things to leave, but Louis’ hand shoots out and grabs his arm in a vice-like grip. He looks up at Louis who is looking at him with hard eyes.

 

“Look, before you throw shit then let me talk,” He says, and Niall hesitates for a second, before sitting back down and staring at Louis expectantly. Seriously, this better be good.

 

“Good boy,” Louis says. “Now, listen; I know that things pretty much suck at the moment, alright? Josh was one of my closest friend, don’t you think for a second that you’re the only one who cares that he is dead. The difference between us is that, I know I can’t do anything about it. S’ alright to grief but to act like it’s the world’s end is another story. You need to move on, Niall. anytime isn’t too soon. If anyone, you’re the one who needs this party the most. I want you to come with us in a few nights.”

 

There’s a minute of silence as Louis stares at Niall and Niall stares back. As stubborn as Niall is, he knows Louis got a point. niall knows he can’t spent the rest of his life feeling guilty and empty. No matter what, he isn’t going to get Josh back. It’s over and done. The only thing he can do for himself is to lay the past behind him. he’s young; isn’t that what Mrs. Devine said?

 

Louis is right, and he really seems to want to help Niall. Niall looks down at the money clip, and he can’t deny he is beyond curious about this Legacy thing; he wants to know what all the hype is about.

 

He takes a deep breath and before he can change his decision, he closes the box and slides it in his pocket. He looks up at Louis who is grinning at him.

 

“Good decision,” He says and puts the last bit of his doughnut in his mouth. “You’re not going to regret it.”

 

“I hope not.”

 

*

 

“Who is he? He looks older.”

 

“He is totally hot! I love college guys!”

 

“I know! They are so much more mature!”

 

Louis scoff as the gushing girls walks past him and Niall on their way back to the dorm. Niall idly wonders who they are talking about. They round a corner and catch the path down to their dorm. That’s when Niall sees him and he comes to a sudden halt. Louis stops next to him, confused and follows his gaze.

 

“Who is _that?_ ” Louis says, his gaze getting a predatory-like gleam, and Niall breathes out.

 

“That…. That’s my brother.”

 

Louis shoots him a surprised look, and Niall is just as surprised. There, in front of their dorm, leaned against one of the pillars is none other than Greg Horan. His has a beanie shoved over his shaggy, light brown hair, looking like he is freezing in his thin jacket, a pair of hipster glasses covering his grey blue eyes. Niall hasn’t seen his brother since he left a week before Niall left for Washington DC. He has talked in phone with him though and their latest conversation was last night; he hadn’t bothered mentioning he is dropping by.

 

Greg sees Niall, and his whole face breaks into a grin.

 

“Niall!” He calls and waves, walking over.

 

“Greg!” Niall meets him half-way, hugging his older brother around the middle. “What are you doing here?” 

 

“I came to see you, obviously,” Greg says as they pull away from each other. “Thought I’d stop by, you know, after everything that happened.” Niall swallows and forces a smile. “Yeah.”

 

Greg’s eyes flickers behind Niall, and Niall turns around to Louis who is very obviously checking out his brother; he can’t be for real.

 

“Oh, that’s your friend?” Greg asks, smiling kindly and Louis strolls over.

 

“The name is Louis,” Louis says offering his hand and flashing a charming smile. Greg takes it and shakes it. “Nice to meet you, Louis.”

 

“Nice to meet you too, Greg,” Louis says, holding on to Greg’s hand for longer than necessary. “I see the good looks run in the family.”

 

If Niall was drinking anything he would choke. There’s no doubt that Louis is flirting with his older brother who by the way is as _straight_ as they come; besides, it’s just plain gross. He has to intervene.

 

“So, how is your girlfriend?” Niall asks Greg - who looks quite amused - and shoots Louis a pointy look. Louis doesn’t even seem to notice, doesn’t even falter at the mentioning of a girlfriend.

 

“She’s alright, a little stressed about exams and oh yeah, I should say hi from her,” Greg says, looking away from Louis and at Niall. “I was thinking that we could hang downtown, today? I am sure you could get permission to leave campus.”

 

A day away from this madness. Gladly.

 

Before Louis can open his mouth again, Niall grabs Greg’s arm, “that sounds great!”, and with a quick goodbye to a disgruntled looking Louis he drags his brother away.

 

*

 

“Louis, the Legacy is tomorrow. _tomorrow_. there is zero time left, we _have_ to ask Susan the favor. She is on the board and was a total rebel back in the days,” Harry half-whispers across their table in the café. “And quite hot too,” he adds as an afterthought.

 

Louis sighs.

 

“There must be another way,” He insists. “I don’t want her to think that we can’t do things on our own.”

 

“Things are out of our control right now,” Zayn says. “There’s no way we are getting out of here tomorrow without help.”

 

Louis sits back in the chair and blows out air. His brows furrows as he thinks about it.

 

“Why would someone in the board help a bunch of kids to attend a party without permission?” Niall asks confused.

 

“She was is a former privilege house residence, and she has a really soft spot for the dorm,” Liam explains. “And as Harry said, she is kind of a rebel.”

 

“Oh, okay, wow,” Niall says stunned. He looks around the café. He knows everyone is watching Louis. waiting for some kind of direction. Some sign that he hadn’t dangled the Legacy in front of them only to snatch it away at the last minute. But no one dared seems to dare to approach him.

 

“The Legacy is tomorrow, Lou,” Harry repeats insistently.

 

“Fine,” Louis finally relents and pulls out his phone. He hits a few buttons before getting to his feet and walking a little away.

 

“Wonderful. How are you doing?” is all Niall manages to make out before Louis has moved out of hearing shot. Everyone in the café seems to have their eyes on Louis’ back, seemingly holding their breath, and when Louis cracks a smile, looking over at them everyone seems to let go of their breath. there goes a couple of minutes before Louis is ending the call and sitting back on his chair.

 

“So?” Zayn asks.

 

“Gwendolyn Hall,” Louis says simply and everyone stares at him.

 

“That’s _miles_ away from the gate,” Liam points out.

 

“Yeah, I know, she said there was a secret passage that led out of the school. She would put up directions there,” Louis says, looking thoughtful. “We still have a problem though.”

 

“All the security,” They all say in unison and Louis nods.

 

“Exactly,” then a lop-sided smile forms on his lips. “But I might just have the solution we need.” His eyes slides to a table a little away occupied by their little lackeys, Quinn and her friends are sitting and chatting over their coffée. (after of course bringing Louis and the others theirs.)

 

“What do you have in mind?” Harry says, grinning, obviously excited for whatever Louis is scheming.

 

“You’ll see,” Louis says. “Hey Quinn! Can you come over here for a second?”

 

Quinn and her friends look up a little surprised but don’t miss a beat and scurry obediently up to their table. “Yes, Louis. is there anything you need?” Quinn asks, and Louis smirks slowly; Niall doesn’t particularly like that smirk because it never means anything good. 

 

“Yes, I need a different favor from you,” He says, and the girl has the sense to look skittish.

 

“Yeah? What kind?”

 

“One that will put the privilege house forever in your debt,” Louis says meaningfully and looks at each three of them in turn. All of them turn beet red and they know what that means. Do this and privilege house will always remember you. Do this and come your junior year, you will be invited to live on the campus most exclusive dorm.

 

“We’ll do it,” Quinn immediately says. “What do you need?”

 

Louis smiles at them mischievously and Niall instantly knows what he is thinking. A distraction. Quinn’s dorm is clear on the other side of campus from Gwendolyn Hall. If she can somehow summon Mrs. Jensen, the police and the security guards to her dorm, they will all be free and clear. But the timing will have to be perfect, and the distraction will have to be realistic. 

 

But of course, if there is one person capable of devising such a plan, it is Louis.

 

"Good. That's exactly what we wanted to hear," Louis says to the unsuspecting freshmen. "Now, here's the plan...." 

 

*

 

Niall is going to regret this. He is so going to regret this.

 

That’s all he can think about on Halloween night as he stands with 30 kids back to the west wall of privilege house. The air is frigidly cold and their breaths are making steam clouds in the air as they in silence watch security guards, police officer flood in from all corner of campus, racing towards the sophomore girls’ dorm. He nervously loosens his bowtie and swallows; this isn’t going to end well. Why did he agree to this again

 

"Now's our chance,” Louis says, somewhere near him. Niall’s pulse is pounding through his temple, his wrist and his chest. “First eight go now. the rest wait exactly three minutes, then run.”

 

Everyone nodds.

 

"Okay. Let's go."

 

He doesn’t expect for Louis to reach over and take his hand. When he looks at him, he sends him something akin to a “it’s going to be alright.” look. Niall nods, then they turn as a group and rush toward the back of the dorm, then behind the trees toward Gwendolyn Hall, its crumbling edifice rising up against the starry sky like a haunted mansion. As they sprint toward the back of the building, every footstep sounds like a cannon shot, every breath like a whoosh of howling wind.

 

There was no way they can do this without getting caught. No way in hell.

 

Niall and Louis are the first to get to the back door, which is partially obscured by a century's worth of ivy and weeds. Louis releases his hand, mumbles something under his breath - a prayer? - and pushes at the door. It swings open with a creak that could have raised the dead.

 

"Go!" Louis whispers, ushering everyone inside.

 

As soon as the seven of them are through--Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry, Jessica, Danielle, and Perrie--another group of appears. Louis waits for everyone to slip by before ducking in after them, leaving the door open for the next wave.

 

"I don't like this," Niall mutters, his eyes darting around warily; he isn’t a big fan of the dark. "This feels wrong. It's spooky down here."

 

"It’s alright,” Liam tell him, stepping into the freezing cold stone basement.

 

The ceiling is low there is a three- inch layer of dirt and grime on every surface. Dozens of ancient wooden desks are stacked and shoved haphazardly against the walls.

 

As we step deeper into the room, squeaking and scurrying noises causes Danielle and Perrie to yelp and clutch each other.

 

"Ew! Mice! I hate mice!" Jessica cries.

 

Then she screams at the top of her lungs. Jeremy had used his fingers to creepy-crawl across her shoulder.

 

"Shut the fuck up!" Louis whisper-shouts. “Cut it out Jer! Do you want us to be caught you fucking moron?!”

 

The rest of the privilege house enters at that moment and the basement starts to feel claustrophobic. Niall feels like he is trapped in can of sardines. He can’t breathe. He gasps for breath and someone takes his hand.

 

“You alright?” Zayn whispers, his mouth close to his ear. Niall wants to shake off his hand, but it is somewhat comforting.

 

“It’s too crammed,” Niall whispers back, as he tries to calm his nerves. Zayn doesn’t say anything, just squeezes his hand and doesn’t let go. Niall can’t help but glance at Perrie, but she’s too busy brushing imaginary dust from her being.

 

"What do we do now?" Someone asks.

 

"Directions. Susan said she’d leave directions. Look for them,” Louis says, his eyes scanning the room.

 

He and a few others spread out to look in the dim light pouring through high windows. The longer they look, the harder Niall’s heart starts to pound. “It’s going to be fine,” Zayn whispers to him, apparently feeling him slowly freaking out.

 

Then a lighter flares on. At that moment, Niall notices a sweet, acrid scent filling the air.

 

"Who the hell is smoking in here?" Louis snaps.

 

“Uh, me,” Harry says and blinks innocently with his eyes. Louis glares death at him.

 

“Do you even have a fucking brain under all those curls?” He says. “We are going to get caught.”

 

Niall tries to ease his breathing, but with the pot, it just becomes that much harder.

 

Harry deliberately ignores Louis’ glare and takes a long hit on a skinny joint before passing it to Linh. 

 

"Sorry, babe,” He says, batting his eyes. “I’ve smoked in every other building on campus, but I could never get in here."

 

For a moment, Louis looks like he want to smack him. then he blows a frustrated huff and turns away.

 

"I think we're safe," Liam voices , peeking out one of the low windows. "At least it doesn't look like anyone's coming."

 

"Guess Quinn’s catfight was really convincing," Louis smirks.

 

"I found something," Jessica says. Suddenly a flashlight blazed in the dark. "It is over by the door."

 

"Shine it around," Louis directs. She did as she was told, and they see a flash of white. "There!"

 

Pinned to a warped wooden door that had been invisible in the darkness is a handwritten note.

 

Guys,

 

No one knows about this route other than the board and the school caretakers. And now you. Take the tunnel to the end. I'll have cars waiting for you there. Be safe.

 

\--Suzel

 

"Take the tunnel to the end?" Niall repeats, voice breathless and panicky. There is _no way_ he is going to crawl through some dark tunnel.

 

Louis reaches for the side of the door and has to dig his nails into the rotting wood to get a grip on it. It takes some effort to pry it open, and it keeps getting caught on the stone floor. Liam steps forward to help him, and together they shove it all the way back to the wall.

 

Jessica shines the flashlight into the opening, revealing an impossibly tiny tunnel with dirt walls and floor. At the entrance were several more flashlights.

 

"She has got to be kidding," Someone says.

 

“I am not going in there,” Niall says, releasing Zayn’s hand and putting his arms around himself. “No way in freaking hell.”

 

A few others voices their agreement.

 

Louis looks around annoyed, his eyes resting on Niall. "Susan wouldn’t have sent us here if it was dangerous,” He says, grabbing a flashlight. “Either go before someone notices us or make sure you aren’t seen sneaking back."

 

Without any other word, he ducks and disappears. There’s a moment where nobody moves and then Harry is the first one to follow him. Gradually, people begin ducking into the tunnel. Niall is frozen on his spot.

 

“Come on, Niall,” Zayn says. “It’s safe, I am sure. Come on, I am going to be right behind you.”

 

“No,” Niall replies. “I can’t. I don’t want to.”

 

“Come on, do it for me, yeah?” Zayn says. “The party won’t be the same without you.”

 

That takes Niall by surprise and as he sees everyone slipping in one after another, even those who weren’t so keen to begin with, he realizes he has come too far to turn around and possibly be caught by security.

 

“Fine,” He mutters.

 

*

 

The tunnel leads out through the side of a hill, smack in the middle of the woods. Niall gulps in the fresh air when he emerges. He feels like he has been feeling his way along the passage for hours, but when he glances at his watch, he finds it has been only a fifteen-minute walk.

 

“Okay, this way everyone,” Louis says. “There’s a pathway through the trees.”

 

Two minutes later, they find themselves at the side of a quiet road, where a line of stretch limousines awaits their arrival.

 

At the sight of the cars, the entire Legacy crowd hoots and hollers. Everyone looking towards Louis in appreciation. Harry stepped up and placed a wet kiss on his mouth, whispering “knew you could do it, babe.”

 

*

Five minutes later they are all settled into a limousines and Niall finds himself nestled in between Jessica and Amanda; which he might say, is tormenting; sitting next to Jessica is awkward enough and Amanda keeps elbowing him when she adjust her enormous chest in her dress. Louis, Harry, Liam, Danielle, Perrie and Zayn made up the rest of the party. Everyone else are crowded into the limos behind theirs. There is champagne bottles chilling on ice in the bar, but no one had cracked them. No one speaks.

 

They were all staring at Louis’ phone, waiting for the final address of the party. And wait and wait. Nothing. Dead silence. Louis looks like he is slowly losing his calm. It is almost seven o´clock. Niall swear to god, he is going to cut a bitch if all of this proves futile. He didn’t just go through all of that for nothing.

 

And then the phone beeps.

 

Louis’ face relaxes as he opens the text, but then his face contorts in shock; “no fucking way.” Everyone looks at him warily.

 

“Lou?” Harry says, looking over his shoulder. “What is it?”

 

“The address,” Louis says, his features slowly turning hard, his eyes narrowed.

 

“What about it?” Harry asks confused.

 

"It's 325 Bayshore Drive, Boston."

 

Niall slowly sees the same reaction spread through half of them while the other half remains confused.

 

“What?” Niall asks warily.

 

Louis looks up and Niall has never seen his eyes so dark.

 

“That’s Stacy Stone’s address.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Special thanks to Mandy for editing this chapter and making it much better than it was. Mandy will be my official beta from now on! :)**
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> **Ps. I love the narry scene, so check it ou x**

Chapter 14  
“This place is sick!” Niall exclaims, practically pressing his nose to the window. Of course, no one else seems fazed by the modern mansion that rises before them as the limousine pulls up the winding drive- and after seeing Louis’ home, he could imagine why. But still, Stacy’s home is just as remarkable. Set into the side of a rocky cliff overlooking Boston Harbor, the house is white, with at least five floors, each with floor-to-ceiling windows that stretch all the way around the square facade. Outdoor decks circle each level - the lowest being the widest - and currently, they’re all overflowing with partygoers. 

Niall’s eyes glance up to the highest floor, and he realizes that there are even legacies up on the roof who are gazing down, holding drinks and curiously watching the new arrivals. The deck has been decorated with colorful flags in orange, red, and gold, which whip around in the frenzied breeze. Between the altitude and the wind coming off the water, it seems like a windswept locale.

Their car pulls up in front of a massive smoked-glass door; right outside stand two guys who look like they've just gone AWOL from the Marine Corps. The men stare them down as their group topples out of the car, giddy with triumph and champagne. Everyone slides on their masks, and Niall can’t help but find the whole thing intriguing.

"Gentlemen," the taller and darker of the two almost sneers, as Harry cackles at one of Jeremy’s jokes. He has been getting messier and gigglier with every swig of alcohol, “Ladies,” he adds with a much more pleasant expression as he eyes the girls. “Do you have anything to show me?”

"Of course,” Louis says, taking the lead _as always_ while flashing a charming smile. He steps forward and shows off his money clip. The man checks it and just like that, Louis is let into the party.

They did it, they actually crashed the party. Really, is there anything these fuckers can’t do?

Niall gets through as well and Louis is hanging by the door waiting for him. He smirks, his eyes glinting with mischief under the mask and he grabs Niall by the shoulder, leading him into the mansion.

The center hall stretches to the sky, opening up to all five floors. High above, connecting the east side of the third floor to the west is a catwalk about four feet wide, adorned with chrome guardrails on either side. Directly above that, in the center of the high ceiling, is a perfectly flat, square skylight, which afforded a stunning view of the stars above. Toward the back of the huge hall two spiral staircases stand, stretching, up, up, up into the house, all the way to the roof. Everything is black and white, except for the red marble floor beneath their feet, the framed contemporary artwork on the walls, and the incredible multicolored modern sculpture - all twisted metal and sharp angles - directly in the center of the room. Around it, waiters and waitresses deliver iridescent cocktails to the elegantly dressed girls and tuxedo clad guys. 

Bursts of laughter and eager chatter fill the well-lit room; for now, everything was feeling very civilized, but Niall has a feeling the real Legacy party has yet to begin.

After a bit of time has passed, the room immediately becomes consumed with silence, the bells all going quiet at once. The guests look around in curious anticipation. There is a distinct sizzle in the air.

"What's this?" Niall asks.

"The welcome," Louis says in his ear and, honestly, does he really have to stand so close? 

Niall tilts his eyes toward the sky, and there is Stacy Stone, striding out onto the catwalk above their heads. She wears a black-and-white striped gown with a sweeping train and a variegated hem, each stripe trailing out a bit longer than the last. Covering her eyes is a huge black feather mask, the plumes of which stretched at least two feet above her head on the right side. Her face is pale, her lips a deep red. She looks like something right out of the pages of Vogue; Niall has to give her that.

From behind her back, she lifts a large silver bell and shakes it. The chime echoes throughout the house, causing everyone to fall silent once more.

"Welcome one, welcome all!" Stacy calls out, looking imperiously around the room, "It is my honor to host this year's Legacy and to welcome you all into the inner sanctum. Of course, this year, the inner sanctum is all around us," she opens her arms wide to encompass the entire house.

"On each floor you will find countless pleasures to tickle your senses," she continues, striding along the catwalk as she looks down on all of them. "So come. Enjoy. Immerse yourself. And remember...what you see here... what you do here... who you touch here... who you screw here..." she pauses, slyly eyeing the now laughing crowd, "All will remain here," she says. "For this is the Legacy, my friends. You are the chosen."

"Yeah, but chosen by whom?" Louis mutters under his breath.

"So make peace now with whomever you worship and _never look back_!" Stacy exclaims, raising her arms out to the crowd in a rather grand gesture.

All the lights in the house are doused; there is a general gasp, followed by a momentary panic, and then thousands of moving strobe lights flicker on, accompanied by a driving dance beat which floods the room with an insane whirl of color and music. 

The cheers are intense. The dancing begins instantly. People shout. Hands grasp. Drinks are poured. 

Suddenly, Louis lets go of Niall, and Niall looks after him, realizing he is heading for Stacy. 

Stacy - who is coming their way - is holding her gown up with both hands as she nods to her guests like she is the Queen and they are her peasants. Niall follows Louis for three reasons: one, he isn’t ready to be left alone in this mayhem, two, he is rather afraid Louis is going to throw a shit-storm, and three, Harry had come up behind him, his long fingers locking around Niall’s waist and pulling him after Louis all the while laughing, “this is going to be good” -so really, he has no choice in the matter.

Louis reaches Stacy before her obscenely high Louboutin pumps even reach the floor, Harry and Niall right behind him; he stops up at the foot of the spiral staircase the exact same moment as Stacy.

"Stacy Stone!” Louis shouts cheerily over the insane music.

"Yes?" Stacy stops up, looking down at Louis quizzically as she takes a final step off of the catwalk, landing safely on the floor.

A screeching girl in a hot pink gown runs by Niall, driving her heel into his foot as she is pursued by some guy who has already lost his shirt. Niall yelps and Harry shushes him. Niall holds his arms up toward Harry in a _“Excuse the fuck outta me!”_ gesture as he tries to ignore the throbbing in his big toe. Harry merely chuckles as they listen in to the more important conversation happening just a few feet away.

Louis whips off his mask, and really, her reaction is Oscar worthy. Her jaw drops. Her skin grows waxen. And then, as soon as the shock begins to fade, a steel veil descends over her eyes.

"Who let you in?" she demands through her teeth, swooping toward Louis like a black-and-white bat, and Niall is afraid she might hit him.

Louis is wearing a smirk as he shows her the money clips; it flashes red, then pink, then green, then yellow. Stacy seems hypnotized. 

"Amanda Hold?" Louis asks, a wry smile on his lips, without doubt savoring the total shock on her face, "And thanks ever so much for inviting all of Privilege House," he adds, putting on a sickly sweet voice as he steps closer, placing his lips near her ear, “Nobody beats me,” he states, his voice dark and menacing.

And then, he turns around to Harry and Niall with a triumphant grin, grabbing them by their arms and leading them away from the fuming girl, “Let’s enjoy the party, boys.”

So they stride away- well, Niall hobbles away more or less. Fucking high heels.

 

+

 

The party is insane. People are fucking insane. Niall can’t figure out if it has been hours or minutes. Everything has been a blur of silk, sweat, bass, skin, hands, and of course, alcohol. It seems like everyone has turned into animals without any sense of boundaries. Niall has lost count on the times some random guy or girl has tried to grope him.

He hasn’t moved from the first floor, dancing and having fun with whatever configuration of friends he can find. For the first time in what feels like ages, he is having fun- completely letting go. He feels like here, no one can reach him; not the memories, not the police, not the stares. He is dancing with a couple of girls from his dorm when Louis appears in front of him. To Niall’s surprise, his fingers curl around his hips, pulling him flush against Louis, Niall gasps sharply in surprise.

“Having fun?” Louis shouts over the music, his eyes completely glazed over and Niall wonders how many drinks he’s had. 

“Definitely,” Niall says, trying his best to ignore _the way_ Louis is moving against him; as he said, there really are no boundaries anymore.

“Good,” Louis grins into his face, “You need it,” he gives him a wink, and, Niall can’t help the blush that always seems to settle in his cheeks when Louis’ in his presence.

They dance in silence a few moments longer, and Niall isn’t exactly opposed to Louis’ wandering hands or the fact that he’s grinding up behind him in a very suggestive manner.

In fact, he’s almost sad to see him go as he winks once more before shimmying his way back to the girl he had been dancing with.

 

+

 

Niall wonders what Zayn is playing at as he sips at his first drink of the night- some frothy, pink thing – while staring at the shameless Prince from across the room as he makes out rather sloppily, Niall might add, with Perrie. And, no. Niall isn’t jealous. Not at all. 

But then he watches as Zayn’s hand tightens around Perrie’s waist, thus making Niall’s hand tighten around his drink, and, okay. Maybe just a tiny bit jealous.

He wonders if Perrie knows that her supposedly perfect boyfriend is kissing other guys behind her back. Like what the fuck is wrong with him? Why would he kiss Niall - and _more_ \- when he seems to be perfectly content with her? Where did all these boys lose their morals? God. 

Unable to watch them for a second longer, Niall decides to explore the next floor. Once he reaches the second floor, he is immediately met with the thick scent of weed. Everywhere he looks, people are standing – _mostly sitting_ \- around smoking on pipes and joints. What the fuck is this? The druggie floor? Though Niall must say it is far more relaxed than the mayhem going on downstairs.

Niall briefly contemplates joining them and getting high off his ass, but shakes his head and is about to turn and walk away when some guy in a George W. mask grabs him, and really, Niall has had about enough. 

“Hello blondie, why don’t you-“ Niall punches him before he can finish his sentence and he crashes to the floor; oops, seems like George had a little too much to drink. Niall stalks down the hall without another glance. He needs some space, some silence. He opens a random door down the hall and steps in.

After dropping onto the queen-sized bed in the middle of the room, Niall rips his mask off, breathing slowly. He closes his eyes and enjoys the silence.

 

+

 

Niall doesn’t know how long he spends in the room, all he knows is that he falls asleep and is awakened by the creak of the door opening. He frantically sits up, fully expecting some other idiot but is surprised by the mass of familiar curls.

“Oh, here you are,” Harry slurs and looks around the room, then smirks. 

“Hi, Harry,” Niall says and yawns. Harry closes the door behind him and walks over, taking a seat next to Niall on the bed- much closer than necessary, but, Niall really can’t be bothered to give Harry the _‘personal space’_ talk again, so, oh well.

“Why are you hiding in here all alone?” Harry questions, allowing his thigh to brush Niall’s softly.

“I needed a break,” Niall says with a shrug, “And I don’t feel like partying anymore… are we going home soon?” He asks hopefully before subconsciously realizing that he considers his room in Privilege House to be his home now. And really, it is.

Harry seems to frown. Niall can’t tell because of the mask.

“You should be having fun,” he scolds playfully, “Why aren’t you having fun?”

Niall shrugs again.

Harry stares at him for a moment, and before Niall can even register what’s happening, Harry’s fingers are digging into his ribs, and he’s suddenly tickling him out of the blue. A surprised squeal - that Niall would never admit he made - escapes his lips as he falls over in an attempt to escape Harry, who just grins deviously and follows after him.

“Oh my god!” Niall gasps as he tries to wriggle away from Harry’s fingers. “P-Please s-stop!” He gasps in between laughs. 

“Never!” Harry bellows, somehow finding all of Niall’s most ticklish spots easily, all the while laughing at the blonde boy’s struggle.

“Damn it Styles!” Niall grunts, feeling his face turn red in laughter and adrenaline. 

And then a tickle fight breaks out between them until it sounds like someone is being murdered in the room. They collapse on top of each other, heaving for air and trying to calm down as they refill their burning lungs. Harry is lying on top of Niall, and Niall simply can’t be bothered to try and shove off his almost crushing weight. It seems like Niall can’t be bothered with a lot of things tonight.

Harry looks down at him with a wide grin, dimples denting his cheeks, “Look, you actually remember how to laugh,” he says playfully poking at Niall’s nose.

“Idiot,” Niall replies dryly, pinching Harry in the side and making him yelp in pain as Niall cackles.

They laugh again before quieting down and for a moment, they just lie there and Niall can feel Harry’s heartbeat against his chest, feel his hot breath fanning across his neck, and he swallows heavily; this is no good. He needs Harry to get off of him. The mood feels like it’s changing, and frankly, Niall doesn’t know what to do.

“Harry,” he grunts, trying to shift a little, “You can get off now.”

Harry lifts his face and looks down at Niall, well, _gazes_ would probably be a more appropriate word for it. The green in his eyes seems to be ten times deeper and so, so intense- and searching. Niall wonders if he’s high on something and considering where they are, that wouldn’t be unlikely.

Niall can’t look away either; he feels frozen and _he_ sure as hell isn’t on anything, hell, he’s not even tipsy. It’s just… the intensity of Harry’s eyes offer no escape. They pull and they trap. They suck and they swallow.

Harry shifts a little and his face is brought a few inches closer. Now, Niall can feel his breath fanning over his lips and that is somehow arousing. Feeling Harry’s bodyweight on top of him is also somehow arousing. Pretty much everything regarding Harry Styles at this very moment is somehow arousing in Niall’s opinion- but he’d never admit that. The stupid oaf’s ego is already through the roof.

“Harry,” Niall whispers, his voice oddly raspy, “What are you thinking?”

“This,” Harry states simply and then he slowly - painfully slowly - leans down, kissing him softly right on the lips. And everything inside of Niall explodes as Harry presses down on him; every inch of Harry’s body melting into his.

His mouth is so, so warm and so, so soft and it feels indescribable. God, if he knew kissing Harry was like this - making his entire body vibrate with pleasure - he might have kissed him long ago. Kissed him every chance he could find, really.

Harry pulls away too soon and looks down at Niall, his eyes a few shades darker. He looks down at him with those wonderful green eyes that make Niall’s breath catch in his throat; all Niall really wants is to pull him back down but all he can do is look back at him.

Then Harry leans back in and captures Niall’s lips in another breath-taking kiss. Niall reaches around him and pushes him closer to him, needing to feel his body against his; needing to touch every inch of him. He finds himself taking off Harry’s mask as it is in the way and Harry licks into his mouth, wet and hot and Niall sighs in pleasure. Niall is sure he is getting drunk off of the liquor on Harry’s tongue because he feels so very and dangerously lightheaded.

Harry’s fingers are skittering along his sides and Niall wants to be touched by him properly. Harry releases his mouth and places hot, messy kisses along his jaw and down his neck, paying special attention to his collarbone. As Harry sucks a bruise into the delicate skin, Niall throws his head back with a small moan.

Then his plump lips are against Niall’s ear as his thumb presses into a patch of naked skin under his shirt, “Niall, let me have you, please let me have you, baby,” he whispers, his voice husky and heavy with want and Niall feel’s a pleasurable shiver run down the length of his spine. “Please, I want you so badly right now.”

Harry is begging to touch him, and how on earth can Niall say no? How can he think about the consequences when Harry is so, so close and how can he think about Harry’s _supposed_ relationship with Louis? God, he just can’t.

So he grabs a handful of Harry’s disheveled curls and tugs so he can look Harry in the eye, “I am all yours,” Niall whispers with complete conviction. There is no going back.

+

Niall pants heavily, his face flushed red and his kiss-swollen lips parted as he looks down at the mass of curls occupied between his legs, carding his fingers through the messy locks. God, the sounds Harry makes as he’s swallowing Niall’s cock have him a second a way from coming.

Harry looks up at him, his brilliant eyes pitch black and his lovely red lips stretched around Niall. And fuck, he gives Niall this incredibly wicked look and Niall has to squeeze his eyes shut, a moan escaping his lips, or else he’ll come right away.

Harry’s sinfully skilled tongue swirls around him, up and down his shaft, licking his slit teasingly and making Niall produce sounds he hadn’t known he was capable of. 

“Oh my god, so good, you’re so good, babe,” Niall pants as he feels the familiar tension coil in his lower abdomen and it hasn’t even been that long; then again, it has been ages since Niall last had a blowjob, and never one quite as good as this.

“Ugh, I am so close,” Niall’s words are cut off into a long drawled out moan as Harry sucks a little harder and bobs his curly head even faster. The muscles in his thighs are shaking as he closes in on his release and his grip in Harry’s hair tightens. He wants to fuck into Harry’s pretty mouth, feel the back of his throat and make him gag. Before he knows of it, he is doing just that and Harry gags, grabbing Niall’s thigh and holding him still. 

“Uh, sorry,” Niall smiles sheepishly at the semi-glare Harry sends him- not really effective when he has his mouth wrapped around his cock, Niall thinks.

Harry raises a hand and the fingers that pinch his already rock-hard nipple are as unexpected as his sudden orgasm. Niall’s mouth falls open as the pleasure hits him and he releases into Harry’s mouth; Harry sucks him through it, swallowing _every_ last drop.

Harry’s lips slide off of him with an obscenely wet sound and he looks fondly up at Niall, all messy curls, dark eyes and pretty, shiny, bright-red lips. A lazy smirk graces his face, “Tastes wonderful,” he compliments, which of course, cases a small blush in Niall’s already flushed cheeks.

Niall reaches over, curling his fingers around Harry’s shoulder and with one fast movement, flips them over. Harry blinks, surprised as Niall straddles his waist, his ass positioned directly on the large bulge in Harry’s pants. Niall smiles devilishly before he grinds against the bulge and Harry’s head falls back onto the pillow, a breathy moan falling from his lips. Niall’s eyes zoom in on Harry’s Adam’s apple and he swoops down, placing a sloppy kiss on top of it, feeling it bob as Harry swallows heavily.

Harry tilts his face up, meeting the blonde’s mouth and their tongues tangle filthily as Harry’s hands caress his back while Niall grinds desperately against Harry’s crotch. Niall moves his ass against Harry’s bulge, groaning as he feels it grow under him and he immediately begins fumbling with Harry’s belt until he’s able to slip his hand underneath. Niall’s fingers slide along Harry’s impressive length, receiving filthy sounding moans from Harry in return. He lets his other hand roam Harry’s naked chest, stopping to play with his nipples, twisting one between his fingers and Harry gasps a little against Niall’s lips.

Then Harry grabs him and Niall feels his world spin before he is looking up at Harry hovering over him; their position flipped once again. Harry is looking down at him, his gaze almost predatorily and Niall feels the goose bumps covering his overheated skin.

Harry latches on to his neck, dragging his lips along it just as Niall’s fingers hook under Harry’s boxers, pulling them down in one movement and flinging them carelessly, letting them land somewhere behind him.

 

+

 

Harry has wonderful fingers- wonderfully skilled fingers. Wonderful, long fingers that move, stretch and curl so perfectly. Lubed fingers that make a mess of Niall, making him desperately beg for more. Fingers that make Niall release the most embarrassing sounds, fingers that make him incoherent, fingers that make his cock rock-hard all over again.

One finger, two fingers, _three_ fingers, and Niall doesn’t have one coherent thought left. All the words he can remember are a continuous rant of:

_Harry, Harry, Harry, baby, baby, god, oh my god, please, fuck, shit, this, ah, HARRY_

“You have no idea how hot you look, right now, baby,” Harry breathes in his ear, “So desperately fucking yourself on my fingers. So needy for me, aren’t you?”

And Harry continues whispering filthy words in his ear that make Niall blush and writhe and his tongue licks into his mouth all wet and dirty; Harry’s fingers hit all of the right spots inside of him and Niall has to make him pause, because he needs to breathe, he can’t come again, _not yet_.

“God, Harry, enough, p-please want more- _need more_ ,” Niall pants, sounding absolutely wrecked already.

“Wanna hear you say it,” Harry insists, groaning against his mouth as he sucks in Niall’s lower lip and bites down until the soft skin breaks.

“Christ, _fine_ , fuck me- Harry, fuck me so hard I won’t be able to sit down without thinking about you,” Niall begs into Harry’s ear, and Harry groans, his long fingers twisting in Niall’s hair and tugging, “God, you have no idea what that just did to me.”

He then proceeds to throw Niall’s legs over his shoulders, causing Niall’s butt to lift slightly off of the bed. Niall wants to roll his eyes or scoff as he sees a condom and lube packet in Harry’s hands- but he doesn’t because, _fuck_ , he’s so thankful for Harry’s ability to pull things out of _onlygodknowswhere_ ; really, Niall isn’t surprised. That seems to be one of Harry’s greatest qualities. He’s always fucking prepared.

Niall moans in anticipation as he watches Harry tugging on his cock, the thickness it making Niall’s eyes grow wide, which creates a smug smirk on Harry’s lips. Harry rips the condom open and to Niall’s surprise, hands it to him, “Slip it on, come on now,” Harry insists, voice sinfully hot.

“Fuck,” Niall curses as he complies, rolling it on Harry’s cock and Harry bites his lip, breathing in deeply. 

Harry keeps his eyes locked on Niall as he lubes up his cock and Niall is feeling as if he’s on the brink of madness as Harry drips some of the lube around his waiting hole; he prods those _long_ , wonderful fingers inside of him a few more times, scissoring slowly in a final attempt to open him up. God, never before has Niall felt so fucking desperate- the noises coming out of his mouth prove enough just how much he’s gagging for _it._

Harry then proceeds to drag his throbbing cock along Niall’s rim, earning gasps and more curses from Niall’s bruised lips.

“God, stop being such a tease,” he growls and Harry chuckles, “As you wish.”

And then he pushes into him, thrusting in deeply and Niall grunts at the painful stretch, his toes curling as his fingers clutching the sheets. 

“Fuck, it hurts,” he chokes, “You’re _so_ big,” Niall whimpers, burying his face into Harry’s shoulder. And, to be clear, Niall isn’t attempting to talk dirty. Harry literally is just _fucking huge_ and Niall is sure he will rip him apart. 

Harry’s wonderful fingers really are no match against his monster cock, Niall notes to himself.

“God, you’re just tight, Ni,” Harry groans, squeezing his eyes shut in pleasure, “but I’ll make it fit,” he growls, shushing Niall’s protests with his own lips as he pulls out a little only to push even more deeply inside of him; Niall bites down on his lip until he can taste coppery blood. He whines and groans in pleasure as Harry’s dick sinks deeper inside, until he is sheathed, balls deep, with his crotch resting against Niall’s trembling backside.

“When’s the last time you were properly fucked, babe?” Harry asks curiously, and although Niall may have felt his cheeks warm the slightest bit, he relaxed when there was no teasing in Harry’s voice. 

Rather than answering, Niall just whines, deep in his throat as he feels Harry twitch within him, causing a suggestive grin to appear upon Harry’s lips.

“Well, we’ll just have to fix that, won’t we?” He asks, trailing his fingertips down Niall’s sides before groping Niall’s ass firmly as he begins grinding their bodies together in a sinfully perfect friction. Niall chokes out a high pitched cry as Harry subtly pulls his cheeks apart, pushing himself even deeper within the shuddering blonde. 

“’M gonna fucking ruin you,” Harry promises, stroking the sides of Niall’s face and kissing him urgently in an effort to distract himself from plunging violently into Niall before the boy is ready. 

And oddly enough- the promise of being ruined has never sounded so sweet, Niall thinks.

Harry keeps control of himself, and presses his lips to Niall’s forehead as he finally feels the blonde begin to relax and then they’re kissing each other, soft and slow as Harry remains completely still within Niall’s tight heat. _Waiting._

“You can move,” Niall finally gasps, his breath spilling across Harry’s lips - only to be trapped once more as he licks hotly into Niall’s mouth – and Harry still doesn’t move as he searches Niall’s eyes, his eyebrow raised and waiting for a specific phrase, which Niall is all too desperate to whisper, “Fuck me.”

And. Harry does just that.

_He moves, he fucks, he thrusts, he pushes, he pulls, he plunges, and he pounds._

All the while, the two are panting, lips brushing and whispering words of filth and fondness all in one go.

 

+

Harry and Niall are sprawled out on the bed- sweaty, panting and filthy. They share lazy kisses and faint touches before Harry rolls away, and they begin to gather their clothes, hiding shy smiles as they dress.

“Let’s get back to the party,” Harry suggests, but Niall shakes his head and falls back to a relatively clean area of the bed, “Nah, I’m good.”

“Whatever you say,” Harry answers with a shrug, turning away from Niall and heading out of the room.

Harry stops up at the door, looking back at Niall with a smirk, his eyes twinkling with mischief, “Oh and just to let you know, we just fucked on Stacy’s bed,” he says casually before walking out, leaving Niall with a priceless expression; his jaw touching the ground and his eyes wide.

+

Niall didn’t mean to find _it_ , he really didn’t- it just kind of happened by accident. He was on his way out of Stacy’s room when he accidently knocked over a pile of books; cursing under his breath he began to pick them up and that’s when _it_ caught his eye. One of the albums had fallen open and right there smack dab in the middle is a picture- _a picture of Louis and Stacy._

A picture of Louis and Stacy looking at least 4 years younger, arms flung around each other’s shoulders with huge, blinding grins towards the camera as the Eiffel tower hovers in the background. On top is a handwritten caption: **“Me and Lou in Paris.”**

“What the actual fuck,” Niall breathes and his itching curiosity makes him turn to the next page, and on every single one is a picture of Louis and Stacy beaming back at him, and it just looks so weird -seeing those two who normally glare at one another with complete distain- looking so happy and relaxed together.

 **“Bestest, best friend ever! xx”** one of the caption reads of a picture that can’t be more than a year old. They are both in their Prescott Academy uniforms and Louis is giving the camera a cheeky grin while Stacy’s lips are planted on his cheek.

And, Niall, well- he’s just at an absolute loss. What on earth could have happened to destroy what looks to be such a happy relationship?

This doesn’t make sense at all. Louis and Stacy hate each other. The tension when they look at each other is dangerous and heavy. The way Louis spits her name with venom. The way Stacy looks at Louis like she wants to stab him- she had even attempted to exclude him from the Legacy party for Christ’s sake.

What is it that Niall doesn’t know? What happened for two former best friends to look at each other with so much loathing and hatred? What has happened in the last year that was big enough to break them apart? 

Niall slams the book shut, confused. Does everyone at this place have secrets? Is there a secret course in deception that Niall doesn’t know about? Whatever happened to Louis plastering on that charming grin and assuring Niall that he was _in_? That Niall was _one of them_ and there would be no more secrets.

Albeit, he supposes Louis probably doesn’t see this as a secret as much as leaving out useful information.

But still, what is wrong with this place?

What kind of people has Niall become involved with?

 

+

 

Niall stares at Louis as his world turns and spins and he _knows_ he is in for a crash soon. He eyes Louis as Louis gazes down at Harry- Harry who has fallen asleep in Louis’ lap and Louis is watching him with this affectionate regard that makes Niall want to bury himself ten feet under. He is carding his fingers through Harry’s curls and even though Harry is drooling and snoring, Louis looks like he hasn’t seen a more beautiful sight.

Niall is a dead man, and he knows it. Sleeping with Harry is going to be the biggest mistake of his life, yet; Louis is going to find out like he does everything and then he is going to murder him. Niall assumes Harry will merely get a smack on the nose as if he’s a puppy who just diddled on the rug, but not Niall. No, this will all fall on him, and he _knows_ it. This will be the end of him. His scholarship, his future, his life- everything is _ruined._

Niall lets slip a cynical chuckle - which no one seems to notice - as he remembers Harry’s words from just a few hours ago- when they were sweaty, tangled, and completely immersed in one another, _“I’m gonna fucking ruin you,”_ he had said, and well, Niall supposes the curly headed fucker couldn’t have been more spot on, really. 

_fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, what had he been thinking? Oh yeah, he hadn’t._

He gulps and looks out at the dark night as the limo bumps along the road. The only sounds in the limo aside from Harry’s snoring are hushed giggles coming from Jessica and Jeremy as they draw on a passed out Liam’s face with a magic marker, and Jessica nearly snorts as Jeremy writes a crude word across Liam’s forehead.

Zayn is sitting next to him, and he is staring. Niall can feel his gaze and he just wishes he would _stopstaring_. Niall yawns loudly, and Zayn asks him if he is tired.

“Yeah,” he mumbles, rubbing his palms harshly against his eyes until his vision is dancing with stars.

“Come’re,” Zayn murmurs and Niall looks over, meeting his watchful eyes; Zayn has lifted his arm invitingly, and really, it’s too tempting for Niall to say no - besides, Perrie isn’t in this limo - so he cuddles into him. Niall lasts about two seconds before his neck begins to ache and he wiggles around, trying to find a more comfortable position. Zayn raises his arm again, nudging Niall gently as he directs him into lowering his head until it’s resting against Zayn’s thigh.

Ah, yeah. Much better.

“Thanks,” Niall mumbles through a yawn as his eyelids starts to feel heavy.

“No problem,” Zayn replies softly as Niall feels the Prince’s fingers in his hair; his lips quirk up as he is swept away by sweet darkness.

 

+

 

The tunnel seems tighter on the way back to campus- _tighter, colder and devoid of air_. Niall feels himself reach out, searching for someone’s – anyone’s - hand for comfort. 

_Of fucking course_ he ends up with Harry’s hand - _gulp_ \- but Harry’s hand is better than nothing. He just wants out of there.

And then it happens.

Up ahead, someone begins coughing, which quickly turns into a raw hacking sound; seemingly at the same time, smoke fills Niall’s lungs- and not the lazy smoke of a blunt this time, but _real_ , thick, black, and suffocating smoke. Panic beings to consume not only him, but the people around him; Niall gasps as everyone starts pushing and shouting, which leads to him swallowing even more of the thick, black smoke that stings his eyes and burns his lungs.

"Turn around! You guys! Turn around!" A voice from up ahead shouts.

A single scream quickly ascends into multiple screams, and just like _that_ \- the tunnel is consumed in chaos. Niall turns around to find Jeremy - who had been in front of him, but is now behind – as he’s shoved roughly into him. It’s a domino effect as Niall trips, falling against Harry, who clumsily falls over his own long legs and hits the floor with a groan.

“Harry!? You alright?” Niall yells, his voice just an inch away from hysterical as he desperately tries to help Harry back onto his feet. 

It is a stampede- absolute mayhem. 

Niall finally pulls Harry back up, his pulse pounding in his ears as he feels the panic seeping into every vein of his body- completely taking over. 

Fuck, they’re all dead- they’re all going to die. They’re going to get crushed and suffocate and die- unless they burn to death first before the smoke can get them, for fucks sake. Niall shakes his head, attempting to rid his mind of these morbid thoughts as he stands amongst the chaos- searching for the beacon of light that will guide them to safety.

"Stop!" Louis roars at the top of his lungs. He is a few people behind Niall now since he had been leading the way, "Everyone just calm the fuck down!" he demands in his authoritative tone. Nobody moves. "Now pick yourselves up," he says simply, trying to cool down the frenzied people of Privilege House. 

And of course… of _fucking_ course that beacon of light would manifest itself in Louis Tomlinson- but Niall will save the misplaced resentment until later, when they’re safely away from this literal hell hole.

Niall steadies Harry on his feet, offering his elbow to the slightly disoriented boy; the smoke grows thicker as they attempt to follow Louis’ instructions- but Niall is still unnerved by the amount of coughing and crying echoing throughout the tight space.

"Now, cover your mouths and noses with something and walk. Walk fast, but _walk_ ," Louis insists loudly, leading the group much more effectively than anyone else could have, "We're not that far from the opening,” he assures, leading them confidently even though he’s behind all of them. 

Seriously, how does he do that?

And so they walk. 

Niall clutches Harry’s hand in a crushing grip, covering his mouth with his sleeve as he tries not to suffocate. Someone in the tunnel is whispering a prayer over and over again. He supposes when the privileged are trashed and scared, they get religious.

Soon the smoke starts to thin, and the vibe calms considerably. When he finally finds himself back out in the fresh air, he is almost numb with relief. So numb that he can barely reply to Zayn’s worried “Are you alrights’?”

"What was that?" Liam asks incredulously, his arms protectively around his girlfriend as Louis and Linh- the last of the group- emerge from the tunnel. Their faces are streaked with black soot and Linh bends over in a particularly nasty coughing fit. Amanda steps forward to help him- clearly they had gotten the worst of it.

"I don't know," Louis admits, bending over and wheezing a bit in his own attempt to clear the caustic smoke from his lungs, "But we're going to have to walk back and go in the front gate."

A sort of grim resignation settles upon the group. _This is it_. They are going to go through the front gate - with its guard and cameras - and they are done for. Niall looks around at all of them and hopes it has all been worth it. 

 

+

 

The guard lets them in, and doesn’t seem at all surprised to see them. He simply nods, buzzes the gate open, and watches as they trudge through; their clothes dirty, ragged and soot-stained. The walk up the hill is excruciating in more ways than one. Not only do those of them who are less trashed have to help drag the semiconscious along the steep road, but they all dread reaching the top. Who knows what they will find? Who knows whether they’d be instantly expelled? And how bad is the fire? 

As they finally reach the first dormitory circle, the sky is turning a nice, rosy pink. They didn’t even have the cloak of night now so that they could sneak back into their dorm and delay the inevitable. 

They were so beyond dead.

As they clamber together to view the damage, a collective gasp rings out among the group as they see the black plume of smoke rising above the trees.

The silence is deafening as they stare regretfully toward what’s left of the simmering building, "It's Gwendolyn Hall," Harry says grimly.

They know this. Of course they know this. But someone had to say it.

"Let's go," Louis instructs, and Niall’s pretty sure he heard the tiniest quiver in Louis’ voice.

Once they’ve taken a second to collect themselves, they follow Louis’ orders and walk around Bradwell, which leads directly into the quad; no one even tries to hide or sneak off- the guard has them all on tape- might as well stick together, now.

Niall feels the doom hang over his head as he sees that the campus is crawling with teachers, firemen, cops, and EMTs. The students, clearly, had been ordered to stay in their rooms, but their faces are visible in every window, pressed to the glass, staring down at them.

Niall _really_ wishes he was one of them right about now.

Four fire trucks are parked around what was once Gwendolyn Hall: They have cut ugly, jagged turrets in the grass and kicked up dirt and mud all over the pathways and lawns. One hose still pours water over the smoking remains. Blackened rubble is strewn everywhere, along with crumbled mortar, singed trees, broken glass, and a mountain of charred remains- all of which now decorates Gwendolyn Hall, the original Easton class building- the oldest edifice on campus. 

 

It’s safe to say that Gwendolyn Hall is no more.

 _They_ had done this- this is their fault; who blazes up in the basement of an ancient building with hundreds of aged wooden desks pushed against the walls? Those things are fucking kindling. _An inferno waiting to happen._

_One_ lit match left behind, _one_ smoldering joint- that is all it had taken. They had brought down Gwendolyn Hall.

Harry’s face looks ashen; Louis’ looks even worse.

A few police officers move aside and Niall sees Headmistress Jensen, dressed in a full pantsuit, nodding gravely as one of the firemen speaks to her.

What have they done? Why did Niall ever agree to this? He hopes that “help wanted” sign on the wall of the local grocery store back home is still there.

"We should probably get out of here," Lance says.

He is right. No one has even noticed them standing there yet. But right then, as if Lance's whisper could have carried all the way across to Mrs. Jensen’s ears, the headmistress lifts her head and looks right at them. Her expression is one of unadulterated ire, and Niall feels it to his very core.

"She knows," Jeremy mumbles, still drunk and therefore stating the obvious, "Oh crap, she knows."

Instinctively, everyone turns to Louis; he is completely still with a grim frown tugging down the corners of his mouth. And for the first time, Niall understands that not even Louis Tomlinson can save them from this. As everyone except Louis, Harry, Zayn and Liam take step back, leaving a circumference around the most elite of Privilege House, Niall realizes that being Louis Tomlinson isn’t always a blessing.

It is a curse as well.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Thanks to Mandy for working so hard on editing the chapters. You're the best beta ever. Love you c: x**

Chapter 15  
Niall shouldn’t be here; he doesn’t know how he wound up tangled and trapped in this situation. He was supposed to do his homework, train for lacrosse, and go to bed early. He was supposed to work hard in order to insure a place at Princeton would be waiting for him upon graduation- so, how the hell did he end up _here_?

Why is he sitting in the front row of folding chairs in the Great Room of Mitchell Hall and staring at the somber, unfeeling faces that hover over the long table before them. The gray faces that would decide his fate. _Their fate_. The fate of Privilege house.

Everyone is against them. Niall can feel it, right to the core of his bones-- this torturous sensation like some large rodent is kicking in his stomach, and gnawing greedily at his heart and lungs. As if the vociferous organ-muncher isn't enough, he is also in pain.

Real, _physical_ pain: _His lungs_ are raw from inhaling tons of smoke in the underground tunnel outside Gwendolyn Hall, the remnants of the charred building still billowing plumes into the air at the edge of Prescott Academy's campus. _His face_ hurts as if it has been repeatedly and mercilessly slapped, while his head is being intermittently pierced by an invisible ice pick. _His eyes_ are so dry and bloodshot that every time he blinks, his lids stick to them for one brief, excruciating moment before popping wide open again. He tries not to close them, but that just makes them drier. _His backside_ has also seen better days, so even though he may not be in pain, he surely isn’t pleased with the soreness Harry has left him with at the moment.

This is his punishment, his atonement for last night; for sneaking out and going to the Legacy rather than staying home and doing his homework- and of course, for hooking up with his friend’s _boyfriend._

The whole school has gathered to hear what will become of Privilege house. The anticipation in the air is so thick Niall can feel it’s warmth on his neck, the pressure nearly strangling. Or maybe that is just Amanda’s panicked breathing. Either way, his heart starts to pound as Headmistress Jensen finishes listing the grievances against Privilege house.

"These infractions are deplorable," she declares, lifting a page of stark white paper as she begins reading from it, "Hazing, initiation ceremonies, fighting, ignoring curfew on several occasions--"  
Niall blinks in confusion, his brow creasing in bafflement because he sure as hell hasn’t taken part in any of those offenses. He glances at Zayn, his eyebrow raised in question as Zayn mouths, “Last year, you don’t want to know.” 

And, oh, okay- as if that doesn’t make him even more curious.

"But that wasn't us. That was last year’s seniors," Danielle complains under her breath, and Niall has a feeling he should be grateful he wasn’t here last year.

But on the other hand, he finds it hardly fair that the administration is attempting to pin last year’s seniors’ indiscretions on them as well as their own faults. Niall just shakes his head- even the adults running this school are so warped and greedy; frankly, it terrifies him how ruthless the _real world_ truly is.

"-Ignoring my strict mandate to remain on campus the evening of Sunday, October 31st," Mrs. Jensen continues, her voice growing even more judgmental as their list of misadventures comes to an end, "and, most intolerable- destruction of school property," she discloses, her voice coiled with rigid disapproval as she lays the paper down, lacing her fingers together on top of it.

The room is silent, anxiety levels through the roof as her lips move once more, “Destruction of one of the _oldest_ , most cherished buildings on this campus," she reiterates, looking Louis dead in the eye. 

Louis, undisputed _leader_ of Privilege house, is sitting right next to Niall and appears to be a bit pale, but he doesn’t dare look away from the headmistress’ admonishing look; his eyes remain bold and focused while his chin is held high in defiance. 

And, Niall has to pause his rising panic attack for a second, just to take him _all in_ , because, despite all of the partying last night, _not to mention a severe lack of sleep_ , Louis looks as perfect as ever- even though his uniform is disheveled- like usual, he makes it work.  
Although Louis resembles a Greek _fucking_ God at the moment, Niall can only wince as he studies the brazen boy’s unapologetic expression; he should probably look a little sorry at least because when all those crimes are compiled like that, it looks really, _really_ bad.

"Mrs. Jensen?" Amanda blurts from behind him, standing up in her four-inch heels, "I just want to remind you that we weren't the only ones there last night," she weakly points out, glancing at Louis for backup. "I mean--" but Amanda lets out a yip of surprise and sits back down as she is cut off, "I don't believe I opened the floor for comments, Miss Simmons," Mrs. Jensen spits, leaning so close to her microphone that her voice blasts through the suspended corner speakers like the voice of a higher power. 

Headmistress Jensen clears her throat loudly, "Well, with a list of transgressions this long, a vote seems redundant," she comments, her tone dripping with disdain, "But Prescott Academy regulations dictate that we must vote. So, the ruling on the table is this: Shall the board of directors hereby dissolve Privilege house - thereby taking away the _privileges_ you all have done nothing but abuse - and redistribute its members throughout the remaining dormitories? Yay or nay? All of those in favor--" 

That’s when it hits Niall - they have no intention of throwing him out of school - and the relief washes through him cool and sweet. However, he quickly notices that he seems to be the only one comforted by Mrs. Jensen’s words. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Niall can see Louis’ jaw has clenched tightly; he can also hear the hushed grumbles of disbelief and worry coming from all around him.

“This isn’t happening,” someone mumbles from behind. “Louis, you have to do something,” Jeremy whispers urgently, grabbing the back of Louis’ chair.

Once again, Niall is blindsided by just how close the students of Privilege house really are; Niall feels a sinking in his stomach as he realizes that although these people are, at times: unpleasant, egotistical, and a bit snobbish- they really are like a _family._

Who knew the elite were so cripplingly _dependent_ on one another? Niall certainly didn’t- but in a way, these people were his friends. He’d be lying if he said he wouldn’t miss the students of Privilege House. He’d be lying if he said he wouldn’t miss _Louis_. Or Zayn. Or Harry. Or Liam…

Niall glances at Louis and he can see that the influential boy - _who always seems to have a plan_ \- is at a total loss of what to do; which is a first and quite shocking to be honest. As Niall sees the panic building up behind Louis’ eyes, an idea strikes him hard. Niall doesn’t even contemplate further on it before he’s up on his feet, “Wait!” He shouts, wincing as his voice reverberates off the high ceiling of the Great Room, the largest gathering space on campus aside from the cafeteria and the chapel. Dead silence envelopes the congregation as everyone gapes at him. More silence ensues as hundreds of faces blur before his eyes.

"Yes, Mr. Horan?" Mrs. Jensen gives him a look that almost says _“oh, you too?”,_ while her upper lip curls in distaste. Niall stares back, feeling his cheeks grow hot under the critical gazes he is receiving in every direction and suddenly the idea he had in mind doesn’t seem like very good at all.

Wavering spirit and self-doubt plague his thoughts as he attempts to push himself onward, urging his frozen lips to move.

Niall glances at Louis who is looking up at him, brow raised in curiosity and eyes swimming in interest; he peers back up at Mrs. Jensen who is giving him the most impatient and exasperated glare Niall has probably ever seen. 

As the silence stretches on, he comes to find that there’s no way out; he clears his throat, his voice hushing the whispering that had begun, “I’ll admit that Privilege house has made several mistakes over the years,” Niall states, even though he doesn’t know just _how_ many mistakes, “But, I think it’s only fair to remind you that one of our best friends just passed away,” Niall swallows thickly as he broaches the tender subject, and, really, he can’t believe he just said that as he feels the familiar ache in his chest.

To Niall’s surprise, Mrs. Jensen’s expression softens just the slightest, “I’m sorry we’ve grown a bit reckless, and it’s really no excuse- but we’ve all had a hard time dealing with this loss,” Niall continues, noticing that most of the faces at the administration table have softened as well, giving him the confidence to carry on, “The mistakes we’ve made are despicable, and on behalf of Privilege House, I want to apologize for our carelessness,” Niall adds- he figures that showing their remorse regarding the situation is the best way to get through this unscathed, “but I hope you will give us the chance to prove that we’re a valuable asset to this school,” he finishes, and once again the room plunges into silence. 

Niall can feel his dorm mates all sitting a little straighter: shoulders back, chests out, and their heads a bit higher as they let his words soak in- and Niall feels a flutter of assurance at the sight of his peers pulling themselves together because of _his words._

He then chances a peek down at Louis, who is giving him a scrutinizing look, but he nods his head, as if to say, _“go on.”_

“And how exactly do you plan on doing that?” Mrs. Jensen leans her weight on her forearm and eyes him expectantly.

And Niall has an answer- _money, of course_. Money talks around here, louder than just about anything else. But how much money? He knows what a lot of cash is to him - _a scholarship student from a lower middle-class family with one car and two mortgages_ \- but how many zeros does he need to add to impress people who pay for plastic surgery for their dogs and have personal chefs to toast their French bread?

"We'll hold a fund-raiser," he announces, his voice shockingly loud and clear, considering how nervous he feels inside, "Privilege house will pledge to raise... one million dollars for Prescott Academy," Niall reveals, hoping six zeros _will_ be enough to turn some heads, and his heart cartwheels in accomplishment as gasps and whispers fill the room, "If we succeed, Privilege house stays _as is_ ," his voice solid and firm as he continues, "If we fail, you can do as you wish with us." 

Mrs. Jensen’s eyes narrow, giving Niall a calculating stare before she places one hand over the microphone and turns to whisper with teachers and other various faculty members sitting next to her. Soon the whole board is playing a game of telephone, each whispering to the next and on down the line. Finally, their comments make it back to the headmistress and she clears her throat. Niall holds his breath- _everyone_ in the room holds their breath.

Slowly, Mrs. Jensen leans toward the microphone, her expression impossible to read, "Make it five million, Mr. Horan," she says with a soft but villainous smile, "and you have a deal." 

"Yes!" someone behind him cheers. The room erupts in conversation and squeaking chairs, but all Niall can see is that number. _Five million dollars._ A huge number. An impossible number.

And in that moment, Niall can’t help but imagine Headmistress Jensen with a bald cap on, stroking an ugly cat on her lap as she places her pinky impishly to her lips- _much like Dr. Evil from Austin Powers_ – as she says, “Five meeeelion dollars.” 

"We can do that, no problem," Amanda says, clapping her hands happily, the sound jolting Niall out of his own thoughts, reminding him of the situation at hand.

Niall swallows a chuckle that had been creeping up his throat; now is not the time for comparing his headmistress to hilarious silver screen villains.

"Silence!" Mrs. Jensen booms- silence immediately overriding the room, "There is one stipulation," she reveals, looking at the Privilege house section with an air of superiority, as if she knows the next thing she’s about to say will halt their celebration, "This five million dollars must be raised, not gleaned from your trust funds or borrowed from your parents. You must actually raise it, and you must raise it within one month's time. I will also be contacting the Privilege House Alumni and make it clear to them that they are not to help you with the preparations for whatever you conjure up. This fundraiser will be planned by you and paid for by you, and any profit will be fairly earned. Is that understood?" her voice rings out, proving that she is very much indeed still in total control of the outcome of Privilege House.

Suddenly, Niall’s friends are no longer cheering; he looks around, eyeing them nervously. They can’t back out now; it’ll make him look like a complete idiot. Louis glances at Harry and they have a silent conversation before Harry turns to Liam sitting at his side and Liam gives him a small, almost unnoticeable nod and when all three look over at Zayn, he gives them a thumbs up. Then, finally, they all face Niall and Louis gives him a nod of approval. Niall feels relieved with the knowledge that his friends are supporting his proposal, and with newfound confidence, he gives Mrs. Jensen a winning smile, “Done.”

 

+

“Niall, that was absolutely amazing! You totally saved us!” Liam praises, pulling Niall into him and ruffling up his hair, earning a smile from the blonde, “It was nothing, really,” he mumbles, brushing off the compliments. He looks over at Louis who has been watching him silently all morning, like he’s reassessing him or something.

“But I have no idea how to raise five million dollars; I give up the planning and execution to Louis,” Niall relents with a pleading smile.

Louis smirks, “Nope,” he replies, with special emphasis on the ‘P’, offering Niall a playful grin, “ _Your_ idea… _your_ work,” teases, but then adds on, “Don’t worry, Blondie, I’ll help you out,” he promises when he notices Niall blanches the slightest bit at the realization that Louis really wasn’t planning on taking control. 

Niall was really going to be stuck organizing this. _Shit_.

Niall laughs a bit to lift his anxious mood, “Thanks,” he says softly, his eyes on Louis. 

Louis beams and then suddenly slings an arm around Niall’s shoulder, bringing him closer, “But hey, I’m proud of you, yeah?” he clarifies, nose pressed against Niall’s head, hot lips ghosting over his ear , “I knew I made the right decision by you.”

Niall blushes as he feels a surge of warmth and pride and it’s ridiculous how important Louis can make someone feel- make them feel like they _matter_ ; that’s probably why everyone is falling over their feet to please him. Niall turns his head to look at Louis’ smiling face and he grins right back. 

“Thanks, Lou,” Niall says, trying not to show just how much Louis’ simple words affect him; Louis ruffles up in his hair before letting him go.

 

+

 

“Okay, I think I have an idea for the fundraiser,” Niall announces when they are all gathered in the living room that morning.

“Do tell,” Perrie says from where she’s nestled between Zayn’s legs, and Niall can’t help but let his eyes linger on the couple, wondering how fucked up it _really_ is- before shaking off his thoughts and getting back at the matter at hand.

“I think we should hold the fundraiser in New York,” he says and his eyes automatically seek Louis for approval, who just so happens to be smirking back at him from where he is petting Harry’s hair as they sit together in the chase in the corner of the room. Harry is humming, reminding Niall very much of a pleased cat. 

There are excited murmurs around the room as tired eyes brighten up the tiniest bit, “I gather most of the Privilege House alumni live there. So, why not bring the party to the money?”

“That’s perfect, God I love New York,” Danielle gasps as she lifts her hand in the air, “I’m in,” she declares, her cheeks rosy with excitement.

“I think that’s a great idea, Niall,” Liam says and smiles warmly at him; there’s a murmur of agreement around the room and Niall smiles widely.

“Good. We should probably hold it before thanksgiving- before everyone jets off on their holiday vacations,” Niall says, and his heart drops a little when Louis frowns thoughtfully.

“That’s in three weeks,” he points out.

“Yeah, I know, I thought we could do it by then?” he asks, now unsure.

Harry catches on to Niall’s sinking mood and begins nodding his head, “We can,” he assures, giving Niall an encouraging thumbs up, “I always help my mother plan my dad’s birthday like a week before, because we always forget and he’s such a baby if he doesn’t get his party,” Harry explains as he rolls his eyes and Niall smiles in warm amusement. 

It’s moments like these when his fondness for the curly oaf grows in leaps and bounds- when Harry can tell Niall needs a lift to keep him above water. He really loves him for his ability to read people that way- doesn’t want to leave people floundering under the surface

“Then… I suppose we can do it,” Louis decides, nodding his head in a way that seems to be he’s reassuring himself more than anyone else- but regardless, Niall breathes in relief.

“Okay, cool,” he says and fishes out a notepad and pen from his book bag, “So, let’s brainstorm ideas for the fundraiser.”

For some reason, Niall had expected that the ideas would just come flying, but apparently everyone is drawing blank; whether it’s because their brains are all tired and muddled from the lessons they had today, or they simply don’t have any ideas, Niall isn’t sure. They go back and forth with the same mediocre concepts, before Niall heaves a sigh; suddenly feeling exhausted and claps the notebook closed.

“I think we all need some time to think,” he suggests coolly, “try to come up with some idea for our next meeting. Now, we know there has to be some sort of dinner, so we need to scout out a place to hold the fundraiser; which means- a trip to New York with someone who knows there way around, and any good locations, because I surely don’t.”

Niall swallows as he glances up to see everyone fully taking in every word he’s saying; a bit of a fire begins burning beneath his ribs, never before has Niall felt so influential over a group of his peers- a group of his _privileged_ peers, no less.

“I do,” Louis volunteers, much to Niall’s delight, “I’ll obviously come with you,” he states before gazing around the room, searching the faces, “Perrie and Amanda, I know both of you have some connections, the two of you should come as well,” he advises, turning back, offering Niall a bit of a sheepish grin. Niall blinks a little in surprise at all of the decision making Louis was suddenly doing single handedly – of course he would jump back in to _leader_ mode – but Niall just grins back, a bit of relief radiating through his bones that he’s not going to have this entire fundraiser on his shoulders; Louis probably knows best, anyway.

“Road trip!” Amanda squeals, shooting her arm up in the air to high five Perrie so that their bracelets clink together.

“And I’m coming too,” Harry declares out of nowhere, he is staring at Louis with a penetrating gaze- _daring_ Louis to say no.

Louis looks down at him, gaze slightly wary before he suddenly smiles, “Of course you’re coming, love,” he assures and leans down, pecking him quickly on the lips. Harry seems more than a little surprised by Louis’ lack of fight regarding the matter, but a bit giddy nonetheless.

“Right,” Niall says coughing in his hand so as to draw attention away from Harry and Louis, “So, it’s settled then? We’ll go as soon as possible- this weekend.”

+

It’s just after dinner and the darkness has already descended over campus as Niall carries a tray of coffee down the cobblestone path. He almost jumps out of his own skin when Detective Palmer appears before him, stepping out from behind the shadow of a tree.

“D-Detective!” Niall somehow manages to squeal and stutter at the same time as he places a hand over his chest, trying to get a hold of his racing heart.

“Good evening, Niall,” the Detective smiles friendly, a little _too_ friendly in Niall’s opinion.

“Uh, good evening,” Niall repeats, eyeing him cautiously and he stands stiffly, feeling a bit perplexed because he isn’t sure if he’s _allowed_ to walk on past him or wait for the man to give him permission.

“It’s a fine evening, isn’t it?” Detective Palmer says as he looks up at the night sky where hundreds of stars are twinkling and Niall briefly follows his gaze; he doesn’t know what this is about and he certainly doesn’t like it. 

Detective Palmer stares down at the coffee in Niall’s slightly shaking hand before looking him in the eye, “Where are you going?” he asks and is it just Niall or is there a hint of suspicion in the man’s voice? God, he really hopes it’s just his imagination.

“Oh… uh… I was just heading to the art cemetery,” Niall mumbled after debating whether he should tell a lie or not, opting for the truth. He didn’t need a detective to get suspicious of him.

Palmer looks at him for a long time, making Niall squirm and actually question if he is doing something illegal, he is just trying to bring a drink to a friend, what’s so wrong about that?

“Very well,” the Detective finally says and nods, “Go on.”

Niall hesitates for a second and then just blurts, “Did you find out?” 

And, oh God, if Palmer wasn’t suspicious of him before, he definitely was now. Why did people of authority always make him so awkward and twitchy?

The detective raises a questioning brow at him, “You’ll have to be more specific than that, Niall,” he affirms, narrowing his eyes a bit more, and Niall can just feel the mane studying his weird behavior. Honestly, Niall has never felt more in fear of being arrested for merely breathing loudly and wasting someone’s time more in his life. 

Niall feels cold all over in ways that have nothing to do with the weather as he clarifies “I meant… did you find out who killed _him_ ,” he finally explains and winces at his own words- his mouth suddenly tastes foul. 

Detective Palmer, himself, looks slightly taken aback by the question, but quickly recovers, “I can’t disclose such information,” he says simply dodging the request for information as Niall’s mouth falls open.

“I think I have a right to know,” Niall spits through his teeth and the detective sighs like he is dealing with a petulant five year old.

“Run along Niall, don’t think about it,” he utters brushing the boy off completely and before Niall can shout at him - because _how_ is he supposed not to think about the fact that _his boyfriend_ was murdered – Detective Palmer is walking away, leaving Niall fuming.

+

 

“Hey, you” Niall greets as he gingerly steps through the door, causing Zayn to look up from where he is perched on a stool in front of a canvas. Zayn slowly pulls away the brush that he’d been pressing firmly against his painting with a fond smile stretching across his face, and Niall can’t help but take a second to marvel at him; he’s dressed in a red jumper and jeans that have small splatters of paint all over them, his thick framed hipster-glasses are seated cutely on the bridge of his nose, and he’s got that brush soaked in reddish paint in one hand, resting coolly between his fingers. 

Niall can’t help but smile as he puts the drinks on the table and shrugs off his coat and scarf, “I brought you a warm drink, but only because I’m _such_ a nice guy,” Niall states with a playful grin and Zayn smiles as he drops the paintbrush into a cup of murky water before walking over to stand in front of Niall.

After taking the offered drink, he sips at it carefully before smirking as he meets Niall’s eyes, “French vanilla,” he states, smacking his tongue a few times to fully taste it, “You know me so well.”

Niall just winks at him before he takes a seat on the couch and peeks over at what Zayn had been painting, but all he can make out is visage of colors and patterns; it looks crazy, but cool. Zayn comes over and sits next to him, and Niall feels warms as the side of Zayn’s body presses against his own.

“I never got to say this,” he begins and Niall averts, staring at Zayn curiously, “but it was pretty cool what you did to save Privilege House- the fundraiser is a brilliant idea,” he compliments, his eyes looking so deeply into Niall’s, that Niall imagines Zayn has the ability to know every single one of Niall’s secrets with only _that_ look.

Niall feels his cheeks blushing a painful shade of pink as he shyly stares down at his cinnamon latte, “Nah, it was nothing,” he says and shrugs.

“Stop doing that,” Zayn says firmly and Niall looks back up at him, his eyes wide and confused, “Doing what?” he asks, subconsciously nibbling on his bottom lip, worried that he’s actually done something wrong. 

“Being all cute, it’s quite frustrating,” Zayn confesses and the pink in Niall’s cheeks goes blood red; he coughs a little before he smirks and peers up at Zayn from under his eyelashes, “What on earth do you mean?” he asks cheekily, batting his lashes for extra effect; Zayn laughs loudly before punching Niall playfully in the arm.

They talk a little more- but as usual, their talking turns to fondly gazing and fondly gazing leads to kissing. Niall’s barely been there for an hour before they’re kissing heatedly on the couch- Niall is being pushed down, his back resting against the ratty couch with Zayn’s solid and warm weight on top of him, holding him down. 

And, _maybe_ this was partly the reason Niall came in the first place - _because he needed a good Zayn snog_ \- or maybe it wasn’t. Either way, Niall hummed as he tasted the vanilla on Zayn’s tongue; he tugged his fingers through the Prince’s hair, and shivered at the feeling of Zayn’s lips pressing against his throat, his groan of pleasure vibrating throughout both of their bodies. 

They pull away for air and Niall looks up at him, panting lightly, pink cheeks and glazed eyes, “I don’t get you,” he says and Zayn dips down, nibbling the exposed skin of his neck. “What?” he asks against his neck. 

“Aren’t you exclusive with Perrie?” Niall finally grows the balls to ask the question that had been eating away at him since their misadventures in New York.

The inquiry makes Zayn stop kissing his neck as he lifts his face away from Niall; he actually looks a little sheepish and a whole lot of guilty.

“It’s complicated,” he finally divulges, scratching the back of his neck, causing Niall to frown, “What? Either you are with her or you aren’t or do you have some kind of agreement?” Niall pries, trying to get to the bottom of this inconvenient relationship that he can’t help but feel bitter about.

“No, no we don’t have an _agreement_ ,” Zayn admits reluctantly. “It’s just… I can’t seem to keep my hands to myself when it comes to you,” he whispers as he gazes down at Niall, almost bashfully which Niall can’t help but find _endearing_.

Here, Zayn is pretty much telling him that he is, in a sense, _the other woman_ , and although Niall finds that a bit demeaning and unfair to both Perrie as well as himself, Niall can’t help but find Zayn’s _shy_ expressions adorable, charming and sincere- the privileged Prince is fifty shades of endearing _forfuckssake_. 

“Oh,” he murmurs lamely for lack of anything better to say.

“Oh,” Zayn echoes as he leans in to kiss him again, but Niall reluctantly pulls away, “But what about Perrie?” he asks, his mind trying to grasp any hope of an outcome in which she wouldn’t be totally devastated if she ever found out about the two of them.

“What she doesn’t know, _won’t hurt her_ ,” Zayn insists, that being the only reassurance he offers before he’s roughly rubbing a hand between Niall’s legs, eliciting a breathy gasp from the smaller boy- and just like that, all questions Perrie-related vanish as Zayn smoothly unbuckles Niall’s jeans and slips a hand under the waistband of his boxers; after getting a firm grip around Niall’s length, he gives a strong tug that makes Niall release an embarrassing whimper- much to Zayn’s delight.

“God, you’re too fucking cute, babe,” Zayn chuckles as he kisses him fiercely on the mouth, slipping his tongue inside without permission while he moves his hand up and down in steady strokes, reducing Niall’s vocabulary to nothing but gasps and moans of Zayn’s name- interlaced with obscenities, of course.

Zayn’s hand is wonderfully skilled and after a few minutes of heavy breathing, fierce kissing and harsh gasps, Niall is coming in his pants embarrassingly fast; Zayn ruts against his thigh, scattering love bites along his neck until he moans loudly, mouthing at Niall’s Adam’s apple as he finds his own release.

They collapse in a pile of sweat, limbs and heavy panting, and Niall can’t help but wonder where this relationship is going- but for the moment, he’s content with the feel of Zayn’s arms as they wrap tightly around him, holding him close. Keeping him safe.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you mandy, your edits are worth the wait. big love x

Chapter 16

The lobby of the exclusive Gramercy Park Hotel is like something out of a modern Goth influenced Alice in Wonderland- with its checkerboard floors, abstract art, ornate chandeliers, and dark stone walls. Yet it is somehow cozy. Comfortable. Welcoming. As usual, Niall feels like the gawking idiot he is as he steps further inside with Louis, Harry, Perrie and Amanda close behind him. 

There is a couple at the front desk surrounded by piles of dark leather luggage, and a tiny dog peeking out from the woman's handbag. A group of men in tailored suits stride by them in heated conversation, clearly on their way to some high powered brunch; surprisingly, the men stop talking to check out Amanda and Perrie as they walk by, and Niall can’t help but sneer as they quickly lose interest and continue onwards.

This is not the kind of clientele one might find at the grocery store in Crystalmont. This place oozes glamour and luxury; Niall can’t help but be curious as to what their suite will look like.

"Miss Simmons, Miss Edwards, good to see you again," the bellboy- _who is way too cute to be a bellboy_ -greets them as he loads their bags onto a cart. "I'll take this up to your suite; is there anything else I can get for you?" he asks, a charming smile gracing his lips.

Amanda looks at them questioningly "Should we lunch out, or have something brought to our room?" she inquires, taking a moment to glance around their small group. 

"Lunch? It's ten-thirty in the morning," Niall points out, "and we have appointments to keep," he reminds in a soft voice, trying not to come off as too bossy.

"So we'll do brunch," Perrie says with a shrug, sinking into a red velvet chaise; she leans back and kicks her heels off, "God, it's so good to be home,” she all but moans as she relaxes against the plush chair.

"Home? You live here?” Niall asks warily.

Perrie laughs prettily and shakes her head, the bellboy laughs as well and Niall stares at him a little too long; he notices and blushes, looking away.

“Eh… practically,” she states with a small sigh, and Niall still doesn’t understand as she throws her head back on the cushion, but he decides to just let it go.

"You can take our things up," Louis instructs the bellboy, handing him a few crisp bills from his wallet, "We'll let you know if we need anything else."

As the bellboy silently disappears with Niall’s gaze lingering after him, Louis sits down on the chaise near Perrie’s feet and slides his arms out of his coat, "I say we head up to Sara Beth’s for brunch, then hit Bloomingdale's and Dylan's. I'm definitely going to need chocolate later,” he states attempting to adjust his ruffled shirt before giving up and lounging in the chair.

"I’m definitely in," Harry agrees and sits down as well - _as far away from Louis as possible_ \- and Niall has noticed that the curly haired boy has been keeping his distance ever since they entered the city; Niall can’t help but wonder what that’s all about.

"You guys, we can't go out for brunch right now," Niall says, even though the idea is highly appealing; he is starving after all, "We have an appointment to see the Regent in half an hour, then another at the studio at eleven fifteen. I blocked out time for lunch at twelve-thirty," Niall insists, and ok, now he’s really starting to feel like a little Miss Bossy Britches.

"What are you, auditioning to be a cruise director?" Amanda jokes, checking out a couple clad in matching sunglasses as they walk by, “Just relax for a second,” she urges, bringing her attention back to Niall, and patting his shoulder lightly.

Niall huffs out an annoyed breath, “We don’t have time to _relax_ ,” he claims, as he begins pacing back and forth, “We have to go now.”

“So _demanding_ ,” Louis comments with a roll of his eyes but grabs his coat and climbs to his feet anyway, “I wonder if you’re like that in bed too,” he ponders, whispering much too loudly into Niall’s ear as he passes by and Niall blushes several impressing shades of red.

Niall stares back at Louis, his eyes wide and a bit anxious, but Louis merely offers a teasing smile and walks out. Just then, Harry passes by, grabbing a handful of his ass, making Niall release an embarrassing squeak, “Nah, you just like to take it hard- _I would know_ ,” he murmurs against his ear and Niall is sure his face will blow off any minute now.

“A-ah, ah,” Perrie sings, clicking her tongue in disapproval as Harry follows Louis out of the door with Amanda trailing behind them.

Niall is still red in the face, his cheeks actually feeling _hot to the touch_ as he turns to her and blinks. She shakes her finger at him, “You don’t want to go there,” she warns.

“Go _where_?” Niall manages to choke out, attempting to sound as innocent as possible.

Perrie’s eyes narrow as she walks over and puts an arm around him, giving him an almost stern look, “Don’t even think about getting involved with either of those two, it’ll end really badly for you,” she cautions and Niall coughs in his hand.

Honestly, where was she while Niall was getting his _stupid_ ass pounded by Harry at the Legacy? Right. Sucking face with Zayn- hell _that_ nauseating display of affection at the party had prompted him to venture off into the maze of horrors in the first place. He wouldn’t have even been trying to nap in Stacy’s room had Perrie and Zayn not been---

Niall refocuses as he hears Perrie clearing her throat- oh right… hadn’t she just warned him not to get involved with those literal life-ruiners?

 _Too fucking late_ , he thinks but smiles shakily, at Perrie, “Of course not,” he assures, his lips twitching into the most unpleasant smile of his existence. Although he tries to make it look soft and causal, the way his lips curl must make him look like a deranged madman if Perrie’s smirk is anything to go by.

She smiles then, albeit a bit warily, but she must believe nothing is amiss as she wraps her arms even more tightly around Niall, _thankgod_ , “Good, come on then, let’s catch up with the others.”

+

The whole morning turned out to be one big triumph for them; not only did the proprietor at Tasso’s studio practically bend over backward to accommodate them once they dropped the photographer's name, but also, Amanda manipulated the owner of the salon into canceling all his appointments for next Saturday afternoon so that they could rent out the entire facility. 

They even had a chance to swing by Dylan's Candy Bar to load up on sugar; so far Niall had consumed almost half a pound of gummy bears as well as a Wonka Bar. Niall also felt a bit guilty yet delighted nonetheless to admit that over the course of the day, he’d gotten to know Perrie a lot better as they bonded over one of Niall’s favorite things; food.

Honestly, all grudges fell to the side and Niall instantly adored Perrie the moment he found out she wasn’t like most girls- _eating small salads and complaining about weight_ \- she actually ate like a starving person, and for some reason, Niall really liked that quality in a person.

All in all, Niall decides that she’s a rather lovely person- which only makes him feel insanely guilty for snogging her boyfriend behind her back.

He watches Perrie’s smile grow and cheeks flush as they all laugh at one of Louis’ impressions, and it’s right then and there that Niall decides to stop _doing that_ with Zayn- no more kissing, no more touching, no more groping, no more dry humping. Nope. No more letting Zayn get away with not only hurting Niall, but inevitably, hurting Perrie- an awesome girl who Niall probably would have fancied himself… had he been attracted to tits and all that nonsense.

As soon as he sees that privileged Prince again, Niall is going to be throwing the ultimatum on the table: either Zayn stays with Perrie and Niall cries a river, builds a bridge, and _gets the fuck over it_ or Zayn breaks up with her and then they can do whatever they want without Niall feeling like a jerk.

Niall has his fingers crossed for the second option- to be honest; it’s just so much easier and less regretful fooling around with royalty –or popstars, for that matter- when they’re not in a relationship. Why can’t these privileged fucks get that through their pretty heads?

Right now, they’re walking down a sidewalk while Louis is trying to pinpoint their destination, and all though they’re rather exhausted, Niall is happy that everything has been working out according to plan. The morning would actually have been quite perfect if it weren’t for the underlying tension between Harry and Louis; they haven’t exchanged a word all day and now Harry is walking in the back, in some kind of mindless conversation with Amanda while Louis is leading the group at the very front.

Niall has a feeling the tension is going to explode at some point and he just hopes he is far, far away when that happens. But, knowing his luck- he’ll probably end up right in the middle of it anyway. _Fuck._

“Where is the entrance? I never seem to remember,” Louis wonders, glancing around and they all just kind of shrug, looking everywhere for some way to enter the damn building. Suddenly, a plain black door right in front of them slides open and out steps the single most perfect specimen of man Niall has ever laid eyes on outside a movie theater. He is tall, with highlighted blond hair, golden stubble all along his cut cheekbones, and smoldering blue eyes that cause Niall to instantly forget how to act like a normal human being. His suit is black, his shirt a pristine, crisp white that is opened one extra button to show the top of his tanned chest. For a moment Niall doesn’t breathe- like stated before, he forgets how to be a normal person. He’s so flustered by the strangers presence, that he’s quite surprised (and thankful) that he doesn’t start clucking like a chicken _forfuckssake_.

"Niall Horan?" the Greek God asks with an inquisitive smile, and Niall stumbles a bit as he feels Perrie forcibly push him forward, "That would be me," he says breathlessly to the supermodel. His smile widens and he opens the door further, "Welcome to Suite 13," the beautiful man purrs, causing a few chills down Niall’s body that he would rather not talk about.

"I don't care where we have this thing, we're hiring this guy as our doorman," Niall whispers over his shoulder as they enter the building. The girls giggle as they voice their agreement, and Niall’s pretty sure he even heard a manly grunt in concurrence. Whether it was Harry or Louis, well, the jury’s still out.

"I'm Lucas, the assistant manager of Suite 13," Mr. Hot discloses as he leads them down a dimly lit hallway with red-tinted glass lamps hanging from the ceiling.

They stop at the end of the hallway and he offers Niall his hand to shake- It’s warm, strong, and very large; Niall can’t help but wonder how good he is with it, which only makes the blush travel high up his neck.

“Naughty boy,” Harry whispers in his ear as though he can read his thoughts, and Niall shoves him away blushing even more in embarrassment.

"Here at the suite, we pride ourselves on being one of the most versatile spaces in all of Manhattan. With our high ceilings, moveable booths, and huge square footage, we can turn our suite into anything your heart desires," Lucas pitches, sounding somewhat like a commercial as they come out onto a balcony with two staircases on either side, descending at a curve to a large, pit like room. There are huge bars on either side, and round, suede booths in dark jewel tones are scattered around the room, surrounding a gleaming black dance floor. Niall can just imagine the place decorated with dark floral centerpieces and hangings of cloth, flashbulbs popping, and champagne flowing. _It is incredible_.

He is bought, but still, he can’t help but look at Louis with bright, expectant eyes, “What do you think?” He asks, nibbling anxiously on his bottom lip as he waits for Louis’ opinion. Niall’s not sure why his opinion matters so much- but _it just does_.

“It’s your choice, Blondie,” Louis murmurs as he looks around, even his eyes light up with a bit of awe as he takes it all in, “but I like it, it’s got great potential,” he clarifies, pursing his lips together as gives a slight nod.

And really, that’s all the reassurance Niall needs as he spins around and beams at Lucas, “We’ll take it.”

 

+

They’re all in high spirits as their car swings up to their hotel- well, that’s before they’re met with the screams of hundreds of girls waiting just outside. Niall’s eyes grow impossibly wide as he stares out the window, wondering what kind of celebrity they’re sharing the hotel with. _Ooh… maybe it’s Johnny Depp?_

“ _This_ is the reason I told you to stay home,” Louis says harshly through his teeth and Niall looks over to see Louis scowling at a sheepish looking Harry.

Harry. As in _the Harry Styles_. Oh yeah.

That’s when it hit’s him; the celebrity is Harry. All of this madness is because the girls have uncovered where he’s staying. All the crying, screaming, and the mayhem that comes along with it… is for him. Wow, what a treat, Niall thinks sarcastically.

“Stop making it sound like it’s my fault,” Harry complains, frowning as Louis continues to glare back at him.

“It _is_ ,” Louis insists, and Harry’s mouth falls open as his eyes flash with hurt.

“We’ll go in first, tell the driver to take you round back,” Louis orders and reaches for the door handle but Harry gets there first.

Louis’ flabbergasted look is met with Harry’s defiant gaze, “Don’t think you can order me around like everyone else,” Harry growls, his voice uncharacteristically dark and before Louis can even recover from his disobedience, Harry has stepped gracefully out of the vehicle.  
For just a moment, the screaming descends into quite a foreboding silence before the girls regain their ability to _fangirl_ and Niall winces as their screams threaten to shatter his eardrums. Louis’ jaw clenches tightly as he hurriedly follows Harry outside, and Niall glances nervously at the girls before they all trail after as well.

The fans are fucking insane. It’s surely a miracle that Harry manages to get into the hotel safely without getting a limb torn off. They scream his name, all vying for his attention and bursting into tears if their eyes happen to meet. God so help us if the boy smiles; every time he flashes that dimply grin, the girls go completely and utterly bezerk. But despite the madness, he still stops to sign some autographs and takes a few pictures with his fans.

Niall realizes that the longer he has spent with Harry under the same roof, the more he forgets how big of a star the boy really is; a few months back, Harry might have looked like that untouchable, unattainable popstar these girls see him as, but now, all Niall sees is a young 17 year old boy hiding a scowl under his smile.

+

They all go out that night to another high end club with ridiculously attractive people as well as outrageous prices. Louis and Harry are still giving each other the cold shoulder - and Louis’ mood doesn’t get better when they’re mobbed by paparazzi at the entrance - but Niall is determined to enjoy the night after a highly successful day.

For the most part, he stays on the dance floor with the girls, just dancing, laughing and having a good time. Everywhere he looks he sees vaguely familiar faces. Models, rap artists, rock stars, young socialites. Champagne flows, diamonds flash, girls squeal and pose for pictures. He wonders how many of these moments will end up eternalized in the tabloids the next morning.

"I loved New York! And you’re a genius, Niall Horan!” Perrie slurs as she throws her arms around his neck from behind. She is pressing so close that he can feel her curves and it makes him blush in embarrassment like a 13 year old boy.

He pulls away, turning to face her as he takes her hand and twirls her around, causing her to giggle at his gesture, “Thanks,” he shouts back over the music.

Then suddenly someone is grinding against his backside and he turns expecting to see Harry or something, but is met by a guy that could just as well be an Abercrombie model: dark skin, light eyes, and a white shirt- not to mention, ridiculously hot.

“Hey cutie,” he purrs as he places a hand on Niall’s hip and dances filthily up against him. Niall’s only response is the dark blush that taints his cheeks as he tries to not make a fool of himself.

 

Just as Niall is about to think that this is a pretty alright guy, he’s a bit thrown off as he feels impatient hands groping _all over him_ \- literally pawing at him like a cat - and really, Niall’s getting a bit uncomfortable.

 

“Dude,” Niall voices and moves the guy’s hands away from where they had been gripping at his ass rather invasively. The stranger just smiles, his eyes swimming in lust; it’s safe to say he’s completely wasted. As he goes to touch him again, Niall urgently steps away; he feels his cheeks flushing, not in excitement anymore, but in embarrassment, “Loosen up! It’s a party!” the guy barks over the music swaying his hips in vulgar movements before his hands reach out once more in search of the flustered blonde.

Niall just wrinkles his nose and makes an attempt to turn away - he figures leaving to find his friends is a better alternative than getting molested in the middle of the dance floor- but the guy grabs him hard around the wrist and tugs him close, causing Niall to recoil as the strangers sneering lips get disturbingly close to his neck before he wills up enough strength to push away once again, “Seriously, back off!” Niall yells annoyed and a bit panicked as he unsuccessfully tries to untangle himself from the man’s arms.

“Don’t play hard to get, baby, I know your type: you like to think you’re not easy… like to pretend you have class; when in reality, you spend most of your time ass up on the mattress,” the callous man hisses against his ear, and Niall just freezes in complete and utter shock; the man’s words freezing the blood in his very veins as he stares back, completely mortified.

Who the _fuck_ is this guy to think he can speak to Niall like that? 

 

Niall feels rage in his bones and his blood boiling in his veins; he is about to punch him- typically Niall isn’t one for violence- but right now, all he wants to do is knock out every single last one of this _pretty_ boy’s _pretty_ teeth.

Surprisingly enough, Perrie -who’d been just behind him and witnessed the whole ordeal- beats him to it, slapping the fucktard hard across his cheek; the guy is so drunk, he goes down like a house of cards right there in the middle of the dance floor.  
Honestly, Niall has never seen a more satisfying sight in all his life. No one dancing around them seems to notice of care about the body underneath their feet who is attempting to crawl his way to safety, and it’s quite amusing how many times the dickhead’s fingers get stepped on before he’s finally able to pull himself up against a table and hobble away- _hopefully with a few broken fingers_.

 

“Ow,” Perrie pouts as she shakes her hand, trying to ease the sting.

Niall just stares back at her in disbelief as well as a bit of uncensored awe, “Wow, Perrie- _thank you_ ,” he says still stunned, and he can’t help but smile as Perrie just shrugs it off and Perrie shrugs it off, “He deserved it, what a fucking jerk,” she huffs and takes Niall’s hand, leading him away, “Come on. Let’s dance,” she smiles as she tries to drag Niall deeper into the throng of bodies, but Niall shakes his head, after that last episode, he really doesn’t feel like it anymore.

“I think I need some fresh air,” he explains, giving Perrie’s hand a gentle sqeeze before unlacing their fingers and clasping his own hands together.

Perrie gives Niall an understanding nod, “I’ll be here if you change your mind- be careful out there, Ni,” she warns, sending a playful wink and Niall’s heart may grow a few sizes bigger at the use of the nickname. Really, Perrie is making it harder and harder to dislike her; no wonder Zayn’s a bit unwilling to let her go- at the moment, Niall doesn’t entirely blame him.

With one more smile, Niall turns and begins weaving in and out of the writhing bodies; he’s on his way to the coatroom when he hears Louis and Harry’s voices, and it’s clear that they’re upset.

Niall slows his movements and stills completely as he peeks around the door, immediately he spots their silhouettes’; they’re standing between two nearby coat racks, having one of their legendary whisper-fights. Niall knows he shouldn’t listen… he knows curiosity killed the proverbial cat, _but_ …

“…it would be so much easier if you’d stop acting like such a fucking baby!” Louis spits harshly, and Harry’s face falls before his eyes darken in rage, “Shut the fuck up, Louis!” says through clenched teeth, “You think you can order me around like some kind of dog- do I mean anything to you at all?!” he asks, and Niall even winces at the amount of heart-wrenching pain soaking his voice.

“I treat you the same way I treat everyone else-,” Louis counters, but is quickly silenced by a _fuming_ Harry, “That’s the problem!” he cries, “You shouldn’t treat me like everyone else! I am not everyone else! I am your fucking _boyfriend_ , for god’s sake!” he says, his lip trembling as Louis releases an exaggerated sigh.

“Stop being so dramatic,” Louis scolds with a roll of his eyes; he crosses his arms over his chest as Harry covers his face with trembling hands. 

“Oh my god,” Harry says, his voice sounding entirely defeated as he raises his chin once more, giving Louis an incredulous glare, “You just don’t get it, do you? You know what? Fuck you, Louis!” Harry snarls before turning on his heel and storming out of the room.

Niall is about to panic and try and hide, but immediately relaxes when Harry whips right past him, apparently too distraught to even notice him lurking in the shadows as the angry boy all but runs down the hallway.

Niall glances back to see Louis looking downcast, but doing nothing to go after Harry; Niall makes a split-second decision, spinning around as he chases him down the hallway.

Outside, the temperature is unforgiving and Niall shudders as the frigid wind slaps at his exposed arms and stings his eyes – he really wishes he would have grabbed his coat.

Niall shakes the tremors from his body and hurries forward as an array of flashes and undistinguishable yells up ahead indicate that the paparazzi have obviously spotted Harry. 

_“Hey, Harry! Over here!”_ One reporter shouts, simultaneously clicking picture after picture in Harry’s face; Niall really doesn’t understand how the poor boy isn’t blind. 

“Ya meeting anyone special later tonight?” A photographer asks as he nearly stumbles backward, tripping over other obnoxious people in order to keep Harry in frame.

 _“Gives us a smile!”_ A few other unpleasant paparazzi call out, trying to earn a few bucks at Harry’s expense, as per usual.

 _“C’mon lover boy! Are the rumors true between you and that Victoria’s Secret model?”_ Yet another calls out, and, really, Niall couldn’t feel more sympathetic for the popstar. He always knew that celebrities had to deal with things like this, but never before had Niall ever had to see anything of the sort- and it was the most invasive, insensitive thing he’d probably ever witnessed. Why couldn’t people just leave Harry alone?

Thankfully, Harry ignores their shouts and lowers his head so that he’s practically hunched over as he hurries straight for a taxi that’s sitting at the curb; in a quite remarkable display of agility and some quick footwork Niall more or less manages to dive in right behind him, startling him. 

Harry stares up at the blonde with huge eyes which immediately flood with relief and recognition, “Niall?” Harry asks, as if his eyes are playing tricks on him or perhaps one of the photographers is truly a shape shifter.

Niall smiles back nervously, “Saw you running off and I wanted to go home,” he shrugs as he sits up in a more comfortable position, his arms still wrapped around his shivering frame and the taxi pulls out into traffic, racing down the busy street, “Are you alright?” he asks, attempting not to sound overly concerned. 

Harry huffs, blowing air out between his lips so that the curls dance across his forehead, “No,” he admits, glancing out the window as the city streaks by, “Louis is being a prick.”

Niall can’t help but give a grateful smile as he feels Harry drop his leather coat onto Niall’s lap- he’d attempted to keep his teeth from obnoxiously chattering, but apparently he wasn’t fooling anyone.

Leave it to Harry to show off his chivalrous nature even in his own time of need.

 

+

 

“It’s just…” Harry trails off when they are later sitting on Harry’s bed, sharing a bag of sour cream and onion chips, “Sometimes, I feel like he doesn’t appreciate me at all,” Harry says as he waves his hand in the air and frowns, “He has this thing where he _has_ to be all authoritative and demanding- I admit it can be hot- but sometimes, it’s downright boring,” he shares, sighing deeply as he shoves another handful of chips into his mouth.

Harry has been ranting on about Louis for the last half hour and Niall has been patiently listening while munching on the chips. He’s also been trying to keep himself in the right frame of mind so as not to let his mind wander to the last time the two of them shared a bed together…

“It’s funny, because he is anything _but_ while in bed,” Harry discloses with a suggestive grin, and Niall nearly chokes as he continues, “He’s all submissive and _God_ , he lets me fuck him any way I want and he even _begs_ \- can you imagine? _Louis fucking Tomlinson_ on all fours, just begging me to give it to him? Maybe that’s the only reason I even forgive him when he starts acting all dickish,” Harry rambles, all the while Niall is blushing madly as inappropriate images begin flashing through his mind: _Louis, stark-naked, all sweaty and panting, his face flushed and eyes pleading while he begs with swollen, eager lips._

_oh god._

Niall swallows thickly while shaking his head, “Okay! Can we skip that part!?” he asks quietly before the images gets too far out of hand. Harry doesn’t even notice Niall’s discomfort as he shrugs carelessly and reaches into the bag, throwing another handful of the crispy goodness into his mouth.

“Anyway, one minute he’s making me feel like I’m the most important person on earth and the other, I might as well be the dirt under his shoes,” Harry moans and throws himself back dramatically the on bed, “And then he’s possessive as fuck, he’ll get all pissy and more or less _destroy_ anyone I show the tiniest interest in but it’s totally fine if it’s the other way around, because Louis Tomlinson can do whatever the fuck he wants to.”

As Harry ends his most recent rant with a growl, Niall has gone completely pale and a chip has fallen out of his open mouth, “B-but… _I_ slept with you,” he hisses, suddenly feeling sick. 

Harry lifts his face and stares at him; he blinks, and a sudden look of thoughtfulness suddenly furrows his eyebrows, “Oh yeah, we should probably keep that to ourselves,” he suggests all nonchalance and shoulder shrugs, and Niall gulps, his own temper rising a bit to the surface at _that_ response, “For fuck’s sake, Harry! Why the fuck did you come on to me if you _knew_ Louis didn’t like it? He’s going to kill me,” Niall whimpers, and he can already see his life flashing before his eyes, “Oh God, he’s going to kill me,” he repeats as he hears the blood rushing through his ears and feels his heart beating much too fast for what can be considered normal.

“Hey!” Harry protests and props himself up on his elbows, “Don’t make it sound like I _raped_ you. You totally wanted it as well- like you were making these cute whimpers and then you were all slutty when I was fingering you,” Harry accuses and Niall’s mouth falls open in embarrassment as the twat goes as far as to imitate him,

 _”Harry, baby, please!_ ” he whines breathlessly, mocking Niall, and Niall squeezes his eyes shut in humiliation.

“Shut the fuck up, you idiot!” Niall explodes and punches Harry hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

“What the fuck, Niall?” Harry gasps, wheezing for breath as he holds his stomach in pain; Niall sends him a murderous glare. 

Before Niall even knows what’s happening, he’s crying out in pain as well, a surprised squeal leaving his mouth when Harry kicks him- so hard that he falls off of the bed, landing in an ungraceful heap on the floor.

“Styles, you fucker!” Niall groans, clearly annoyed as he crawls back onto the bed and launches himself at Harry. He gets a firm grip on the larger boys shoulders and uses all of his weight to wrestle Harry onto his back; they toss around the bed, giving each other quick jabs to the ribs and harsh tugs of the hair until Harry finally gets Niall pinned underneath him- straddling his waist and holding his wrists down so that they’re trapped over Niall’s head.

Their chests are rising and falling quickly as harsh pants of air are blowing against the other’s lips, “Come on, baby,” Harry drawls, his voice deliciously deep as he smirks down at Niall, “If he kills you then it would have been well worth it, yeah?” he asks, lips dangerously close as they travel from his earlobe and across his cheek. Niall attempts to flex his arms, to get some leverage- but Harry is holding him down, solid as a fucking rock.

Niall glares up at him, purposely ignoring the twitch in his own, boxers- _refusing to believe that he is at all turned on by this_ , “I think I value my life over sex with you, moron,” he spits, attempting to sound stern even though his limbs are starting to feel like complete mush.

“Aw, don’t break my heart,” Harry pouts, mocking a hurt expression, “You know what? I think I need to refresh your memory,” he teases in that annoyingly sexy, husky voice and then he suddenly grinds his hips down on Niall, knocking a surprised gasp out of the blonde.

“ _Harry_ ,” Niall warns, his voice wavering a bit as the green eyed heathen thrusts against his crotch once more.

“Shh,” Harry whispers into his ear and licks his earlobe, “Let me remind you,” he breathes hotly, inching his lips along Niall’s jaw, making an involuntary shiver wrack through the blonde. 

“How do you want my cock?” Harry mutters, grinding their crotches together as Niall whimpers against his shoulder, “You just wanna lie back and let me do the work? Hmm…?” He asks, darting his tongue out to lick a stripe up Niall’s neck, “Or you can ride me and I’ll make you come so many times you won’t even remember your own name,” Harry’s wet lips whisper as they press along Niall’s face; Niall goes red to the tip of his hair and, once again- there’s an eager twitch in his pants.

“God, you’re absolutely filthy,” Niall hisses and tries again to shove him off, but Harry doesn’t budge.

“Thanks, babe,” Harry smiles, using one hand to grasp both of Niall’s wrists – and, God, why are his hands so fucking huge? Niall suppresses a moan threatening to rip out of his throat as Harry uses his free hand to climb underneath Niall’s shirt.

“That wasn’t a compliment!” Niall snaps, still attempting to remain firm even though his head is steadily being clouded with lust, “Now get the fuck off of me,now!” He says harshly, his last bit of fight waning. 

He originally came to comfort the boy and this is what he gets? Seriously, this is what put Niall under so much stress in the first place- _thinking with his dick._

Harry silences him by pressing their lips together and, despite his convictions; _Niall melts_ , because the idiot knows how to kiss. He knows exactly where to lick, grab, caress, pull, and squeeze.

Harry is still pinning Niall’s wrists over his head, and the blonde can’t help but moan as those treacherous lips dip along the curve of his neck; Niall realizes he’s leaning his head to the side, offering himself up to Harry- giving him full access. 

“Fuck, why do you want me dead? I thought we were friends,” Niall whimpers, twisting his hips from side to side as Harry shimmies his jeans off of his still somewhat hesitant body.

“You love this, don’t you?” Harry slurs, using his one free hand to creep under Niall’s boxers and grab a firm hold of his aching cock. He moves along Niall’s shaft in long, fluent strokes, “You love feeling my weight holding you down- you like to pretend to fight it. But fuck, look at you… you want it, so so needy for me,” Harry breathes, wriggling out of his own boxers as he slots their cocks together, the friction making Niall moan in shameful ecstasy.

“Fuck,” Niall curses as Harry presses his weight on top of him, really crushing him into the mattress, “Now, if I let go, are you going to be my good fucking slut? Or shall I tie you up?” Harry questions, his slick lips dragging along Niall’s throat, before nibbling lightly at the delicate flesh.

 

And Niall… well, he is about to just say _fuck everything_ and let Harry ravish him- that is until Louis’ face flashes before his eyes and he scrambles backwards in a panic, trying to get out from under an ever persistent Harry. There’s no way Niall can let this happen _again_. One mistake is justifiable - it can eventually be forgiven - but Niall knows that if he allows himself to get carried away with Harry _again_ well, he may as well start digging his own grave.

“Harry, I’m serious… we can’t do this!” he moans when the boy goes for his dick, palming him once again, “Stop!” Niall exclaims, his breathing growing heavy at Harry’s lack of listening skills. Niall’s not sure if he’s a bit turned on by the fact that Harry is refusing to comply with his pleas to stop- or if he’s just entirely creeped out.  
In the end – _when he has to resort to kneeing Harry in the balls_ \- Harry’s mouth falls open as he finally rolls off of the blonde, clutching his crotch and muttering profanities under his breath.

Niall pants as he scrambles to sit up and glares down at the boy in pain, “Serves you right,” he mumbles, his mind finally starting to clear away the clouds that had been brought on by lust.

“Sorry,” Harry mutters, setting his jaw in obvious aggravation, “I’m hurt and seeking love,” he adds on, giving Niall ridiculous puppy eyes- complete with his lower lip sticking out. Niall gets the urge to both cuddle him as well as punch him in the face. 

“Harry, there are a bunch of screaming girls downstairs, if you want someone to fuck, I don’t think you’ll have a problem,” Niall says coldly, making it clear that he’s not to be confused with one of Harry’s _playthings_ ; Harry merely groans as his pout intensifies, “But-but, I don’t want them. I want you, only you… it’s gotta be youuu,” he sings the last part, quoting one of his own songs. Niall rolls his eyes and makes to climb off the bed- really, he’s had more than enough of Harry’s selfish _popstar_ antics for one evening.

“I’m going to my own room,” he says with a glare, barely making it a few steps from the bed before Harry’s nearly on top of him.

“Wait!” Harry cries and slings his arms around Niall’s waist; he looks up at Niall with big eyes, “Please, don’t leave- I don’t wanna sleep alone. I promise not to molest you in your sleep, pretty please?” he begs when Niall gives him a suspicious look.

Niall relents at last, “Fine,” he huffs and climbs under the covers with the curly twat, “but keep your distance,” he threatens when Harry makes to move closer.

“Prude,” Harry mutters under his breath, still leaning in to wrap his arms around Niall- completely disregarding Niall’s warning. 

“What was that?” Niall asks, not even bothering to wriggle out of Harry’s grasp – as long as Harry doesn’t start poking him with his dick, then things should be fine.

“Nothing, pretty boy,” Harry coos, giving him a nice wet kiss on the cheek, much to Niall’s annoyance.

Niall rolls his eyes and rolls away from Harry, yet somehow he’s taken on the role of the _little spoon_ , and he’s got to admit, Harry is quite comfortable to snuggle up against.

There’s a beat of silence as they lay together, their breathing growing a bit slower and their eyes getting a bit droopy- that is before Harry opens his big mouth and makes Niall want to backhand him.

“Hey, Niall?” Harry asks, his voice slow and a bit reluctant.

“What now?” Niall groans, trying to ignore the fact that Harry is definitely grinding against him more than necessary. Is this fucker in rut or something?

“Can you at least suck me off? I don’t wanna take a wank,” Harry whines, and Niall tenses his jaw in aggravation because what the actual fuck is wrong with this boy? You let a popstar shag you once and then suddenly your ass in on the line for all kinds of sexual favors?

“What?! No! Go to sleep!” Niall exclaims, shoving Harry’s wandering fingers away from his tummy.

“But you have such a pretty mouth,” Harry insists, brushing his lips over Niall’s shoulder as he tries to fondle the blonde once more.

“Harry,” Niall sighs his name in complete and utter exasperation. 

“Pretty, please?” Harry whispers, and, really, Niall is about to find a fire poker to shove up Harry’s ass if he doesn’t give it a rest already.

“No!” Niall says through clenched teeth for the umpteenth time.

“I’ll take you to the studio next weekend; Beyoncé and Jay Z are going to be there,” Harry sing-songs as if meeting celebrities would be a proper way to bribe Niall… well…

“I said no- wait, really?” Niall asks, his interest piqued just a bit at the sudden name dropping - Harry is apparently getting really desperate here.

“Yup. So, should I take my dick out?” Harry asks at the exact moment he, indeed, _takes his dick out_ \- Niall can feel the rock hard member as he rubs it against his backside _forfuckssake_.

Niall waits in silence, trying to convince himself that Beyoncé isn’t worth it as well as will himself not to get turned on for the mere principal of the matter – he fucking said _no_ and Harry should respect that.

“Niall?” the devilish fiend tries again.

“One more word and I swear to God, I’ll go to my own room,” Niall declares, curling into a little ball in an attempt to pull slightly away from Harry and his molesting tentacles- seriously, he may as well be an octopus, he’s so skilled at groping. 

“Fine! Whatever, you probably aren’t even that good,” Harry comments under his breath as he rolls over and proceeds to get up, dragging himself to the bathroom before slamming the door where Niall can only assume he has gone to wank off.

 

Niall sighs deeply; this was definitely going to be one hell of a long night.

+

 

Niall is laughing loudly as he walks alongside Louis; they’re on their way back from a good lacrosse game - which they managed to win - so they’re soaring with high spirits. Both boys are laughing and goofing off until Louis’ freezes mid-step; his face hardens and his eyes narrow coldly as he focuses in on something across campus. Confused, Niall follows his gaze only to find Stacy Stone shamelessly lip locked with a guy on the steps of the teacher’s building;honestly, didn’t the girl have any other place to suck face other than where everyone could see her or a teacher could trip over them any second?

“Yuck,” Louis mutters with a grimace as he looks away, “Just as tasteless as I remember,” he adds in complete disapproval.

Niall can’t help but glance up at the brunette boy- that sentence making the pictures Niall found on the night of the Legacy in Stacy’s room resurface- pictures of Stacy and Louis together, holding each other, smiling and _happy_.

“What happened between you two?” he asks, as casually as possible. Louis flicks his fringe out of his face and continues walking in thorough nonchalance as he ignores Niall’s question for a moment.

“What do you mean by that?” he finally responds, and, great- _answering a question with a question_. If only Louis knew that the more mysterious he was about it, the more it would fuel Niall’s curiosity and desire to find out.

“I mean, you were best friends after all,” Niall blurts out and he swears, it isn’t what he had planned to say at all. His eyes widen as Louis stops walking, his face snapping toward Niall so fast Niall is afraid he might twist his neck. 

Louis is staring at him, the shock evident in his eyes, “What did you just say?” he whispers breathlessly and Niall can see himself panic in the reflection of Louis’ cold eyes. _That_ is obviously a piece of information he isn’t supposed to know about.

“Oh… uh, nothing?” Niall stammers and begins walking again, wondering if he can escape Louis, but Louis quickly catches up to him, “Who told you that?” he demands, eyes narrowed and Niall swallows and shrugs as nonchalantly as he can, “I, uh… I heard it somewhere, can’t remember…” he trails off, his eyes darting every which way in order to stay away from the piercing blue eyes glaring back at him.

Louis glowers at him for a long moment, so long that Niall is about to crack but then he looks away and doesn’t say another word.

Niall decides never to bring it up again- he’ll just have to ask someone else. His best bet on attaining information about Louis would be Harry… and he’d definitely do that if he didn’t think the guy would probably ask him for a sexual favor in return. 

Well… he’d just have to ask Zayn or Liam then.

 

+

 

Later that evening, everyone is once again gathered in the common room to discuss the decorations, themes and auctions of the fundraiser. It quickly becomes evident that the girls have much more experience in that field than the guys and Niall quickly scribbles down their ideas. 

After some time passes, Niall finally gets a rather decent idea, at least in his opinion, so he raises his voice to talk over the other low murmurs filling the room, “Hey Zayn, we should auction your paintings,” Niall suggests, and Zayn’s eyes widen a fraction before adamantly shaking his head, “Uh… no way!” he protests and Niall stares back at him, completely taken aback by his defensive tone, “Wait… why not? They’re brilliant! They’ll sell!” he insists, biting his lower lip as he nods in encouragement.

 

Zayn looks down and chews on his lip as well and that’s when Niall realizes that he is nervous which he finds endearingly cute. He bites back a coo as he suspects Zayn wouldn’t appreciate it. Perrie strokes his cheek in a fond gesture, “Come on, babe,” she chimes, “Niall’s right, you’re a wonderful artist.”

Zayn is reluctant but in the end, he relents when Louis more or less manipulates him into it, saying it’s the _least_ he can do to help saving the house with them.

By the end of the night, they pretty much have everything down and just have the preparation to worry about. Niall closes his notebook with a satisfied sigh. Now, he thinks he deserves a good night’s sleep.

 

+

 

The next night, Niall has a bandana tied around his head to keep his unruly hair out of his eyes and has a big flask of caffeine next to him as well as his algebra book and notebook open in front of him. He is reading up for a big math exam tomorrow morning, and he really needs to think about his academics before he’s thrown out of school. 

He would have been in the library, but all the others are there and they have been proven to be the absolute worst distractions. The whole house is suspiciously quiet, but Niall doesn’t have time to think about that. He has too much on his hands already, and he can feel the beginning of an ache in his left temple. He sighs as he gulps down a cup of strong coffee which makes him grimace and sneer at the terrible aftertaste. How people manage to drink this stuff out of their own free will- Niall will never understand.

He’s a couple of hours into studying when the door flies open and Louis, Harry, Liam and Zayn walks inside, all pretty and dressed-up, beaming at him. Niall groans, because _this cannot be good_.

“ _Please_ ,” he begs, not bothering to lift his eyes from his algebra book, “It’s a school night and I _have_ to study,” he insists, still refusing to meet there eyes as he scribbles down another answer to some equation. 

“Not tonight, little one,” Louis says with a hint of a smile in his voice as he walks over, shutting Niall’s algebra book, and Niall doesn’t even try to protest, knowing it’ll be futile. 

“Get up and get yourself pretty!” Louis cries, pulling Niall too his feet, ushering him towards his closet.

“Where are we going?” He huffs as he rifles lazily through his clothes. If he paid a little more attention, he’d notice the near- _giddy_ looks the boys were exchanging behind his back.

“You’ll see,” Zayn answers cryptically, and Niall just _knows_ he’s in for a long night.

 

+

 

“Don’t tell me you’re taking me out to drink,” Niall complains as he gazes out the window of the limo as it zooms through the busy streets of Washington DC.

“Don’t worry, that’s not it… _exactly_ ” Liam replies vaguely.

Niall eyes them, trying to read their expressions, but gives up and rests his face against the cool window. The car darts up a more private path, away from the city’s buzz and before Niall can even look around, there’s a cloth being pressed against his eyes and tied in a knot behind his head.

Niall gasps in surprise, “Guys! This isn’t funny!” he protests and moves to get it off, but someone slaps his hands away, “Guys!?” Niall asks again, but all he gets in return is more cryptic silence. Niall decides they must really be tired of his shit. They’re going to kill him and bury him in some deserted part of the city. Well… he should have seen this coming.

The car stops and nothing can be heard but excited whispering as the door is popped open. Niall gulps- because really, there’s no stopping these privileged fuckers. He’s going to die. 

“Get his head,” Zayn mutters and there’s a hand pressing his head down, presumably so he doesn’t hit it, and he’s pushed out of the car, more or less. And, well, at least they have the decency to save him the aggravation of a migraine before they ruthlessly murder him in cold blood.

“If this is a prank then it’s not funny, you dicks!” Niall whines, growing extremely nervous but, yet again, he’s ignored. There’s a bit of chuckling from his whiney outburst, and Niall assumes that’s a good sign. Surely they wouldn’t be giggling if they were about to murder him, right?

Someone grabs him by the arm and he’s led down a cobble path. He hears them talk to someone with a deep, scary voice and then there’s the sound of a door opening. The cobble path ends and there’s smooth marble under Niall’s feet; they come to an abrupt stop and the cloth around his eyes is hastily ripped away.

Niall blinks his eyes a few times, trying to gauge his surroundings, but he can’t see anything- _it’s complete darkness_ ; he’s about to freak out but then suddenly, the lights flicker on and he’s met with the smiling faces of every single person from Privilege House, standing in a big hall, gorgeously decorated from top to bottom;

**“SURPRISE!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guys, I've recently made a tumblr and I don't even know how to find my way around. Anyone who can help me customize my tumblr and whatnot? puh-lease, I'll love you forever c: xx
> 
>  
> 
> oh, and while you wait, check out my other story - wrecking ball (to all the narry lovers out there). 
> 
> thanks, i love you a ton.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is personally one of my favorite chapters. 
> 
> Once again, Mandy did a brilliant job of editing it. Thank you so much, girl c: xx

Chapter 17

Niall can’t believe he forgot his own birthday.

And he can’t believe his friends remembered it - he isn’t even sure if he wants to know _how_ they found out; he shouldn't be surprised, these kids apparently knoweverything.

The reason he forgot might have something to do with the fact that he stopped celebrating it when he turned ten, or in other words, when his mom began abusing pills- and really, before then his birthday has never been a big deal - or it might just be that he’d been too busy working on the fundraiser to remember he turns 17 tomorrow.

 

And the surprise party they’re throwing is well… is no less than fuckingperfect and fantastic and wonderful, and just amazing; Niall feels flattered beyond belief and happier than he's ever been, because, wow… they really did _all of this_ for him.

 

Niall gapes at his friends beaming faces, all of them dressed up in their finest attires. The room has high ceilings, huge windows, and at the far end, there is a DJ who’s playing a slow ballad at the moment; there’s free bars on either side of the room, not to mention a _huge_ birthday cake. His eyes swell as they sweep over a table with a large pile of wrapped presents, with neon letters hanging on the wall saying “ _Happy Birthday Niall!_ " but that isn’t what catches Niall’s attention at first- no, it’s the male servants mingling among the crowd and serving green drinks. Niall almost drools, because: one, they all look like underwear models, two, they’re shirtless, merely wearing bowties around their necks, and three, they’re wearing super tight leather pants that leave little to the imagination.

Feeling dizzy with happiness, he turns to his friends who are all grinning right back at him, “Guys, this…I-I don’t know what to say,” he stammers, completely speechless and stunned- because _sure_ they are friends but he never expected them to do something like this. 

Louis slings an arm around Niall’s shoulder, pulling him impossibly close until he can feel his warm breath right against his ear, “Don’t worry about it, Blondie. Just enjoy yourself, you deserve it.”

Niall pulls a back so he can grin up at Louis, “Thank you,” he says in complete sincerity, keeping his gaze set on the blue eyed boy before allowing his eyes to wander around the other surrounding faces, “You guys are seriously the best.” 

“Hey,” Louis says, looking back at him with a fond look he’s never graced Niall with before, “You’re my friend, yeah? Or, at least I feel like you’re the stupid little brother I never got,” he teases, nudging Niall’s chin with a playful fist.

“Stupid?” Niall laughs, his heart expanding in his chest and he feels warm all over.

Louis starts laughing with him, “Or maybe just naïve and endearingly clueless,” Louis smirks teasingly and gently ruffles up his hair. They share a look for a second longer before it starts to feel a bit too intimate, causing Niall to finally look away.

Just then, one of the waiters comes over, and Niall tries to only look, not touch. He is gorgeous, with brown tousled hair, bright blue-green eyes and a strong jaw. Niall's gaze slides down his toned, firm chest, fingers itching to touch and he subconsciously licks his lips as his eyes continues further down, resting at where the leather is tight around the guy's crotch. 

“To the _birthday boy_ ,” the stranger whom Niall seems to be so shamelessly _eye raping_ cheers in a sexy British accent and an even sexier smirk. The boy looks Niall directly in the eye as he hands him a frothy, purple drink and Niall gazes back unabashed- and, well, Niall _is_ after all a teenager with chaotic hormones, alright? So all his brain can focus on at that moment is just _how much_ he wants a piece of _him_.

“Thanks,” Niall says, a tad breathlessly and bites down on his lip, attempting to gaze in what he hopes is a seductive manner; though he fears he may just be creepily leering at the poor guy. As his eyes roam over the man’s gorgeous body once more, the waiter cracks a charming smile, offering Niall a flirtatious wink before strutting away, and Niall finds himself openly ogling his ass.

_Seriously, when did he turn into such a pervert?_

“Naughty boy, Niall,” Louis teases and wriggles a disapproving finger in front of the blonde’s face, a playful frown creasing his brows, "No hooking up with the help," he scolds, most traces of humor gone from his face; honestly Niall isn’t sure if he’s serious or not. 

Niall blushes deeply, not bothering to dispute Louis’ implications as he casts his eyes down, bringing the purple drink to his lips and taking a tentative sip; he closes his eyes and twitches his nose as the sweet, fizzy concoction slides easily down his throat. 

Suddenly Harry bounds up to him, causing Niall to look up and study the overzealous and beautifully tousled boy in front of him. He’s all bright eyes, pretty curls and relaxed smiles before he quickly springs forward, surprising Niall by grabbing his face between his _annoyingly_ big hands and planting a very big, very _wet_ kiss on Niall's pink lips with a loud mocking, “Mwuah!” 

“Happy Birthday, _pretty boy_ ,” Harry whispers, pulling away just a bit before he winks cheekily and saunters back toward the dance floor. Niall can't help but shoot Louis a worried glance, but _thankfully_ he seems to be too busy barking out some orders to a few people in uniforms to notice that his _boyfriend_ just practically shoved his insanely wicked tongue down Niall’s throat…

Liam, _seemingly_ the most normal of the bunch, approaches Niall a few minutes later and gives him a warm hug while patting his back gently, before pulling away with a big smile, "Happy Birthday, Nialler," he grins and Niall can't help but laugh fondly at the nickname; he nudges Liam gently in the side, matching his toothy grin, "Thanks, Li," he says, winking.

Just then, he feels a presence dangerously close behind him and before Niall can turn around, a hand comes down and subtly grabs a handful of his ass, making Niall choke a little on his drink. A hot mouth is brought to his ear and Niall immediately recognizes Zayn's cologne as the familiar scent wraps around him in a comforting haze, "Happy Birthday, beautiful," the Prince whispers in his ear, squeezing Niall's ass _again_ , and making the blonde stifle a moan, "I have a special _present_ for you,” Zayn reveals, his suggestive tone laced with obvious implications as he nibbles at Niall's earlobe before slipping away, leaving Niall to stare after him wide-eyed, breathless and extremely turned on.

As he watches Zayn walk away without even sparing him a backward glance, he still sees the mischievous smirk the boy can’t help but hide, his eyes flicking across the room to meet Niall’s before quickly darting away, and, honestly, Niall’s pretty much certain that this just may become the single best night of his short, 17-year existence.

 

+

 

Well, as far as most _gatherings_ went when it came to Privilege House - things get out of hand relatively quickly: the never-ending booze is flowing while people are dancing, grinding, touching, and _snogging_ as the loud music makes the walls rattle and shake around them. Everywhere Niall goes, he’s showered with birthday love…and oh yeah, there’s a male stripper.

“You can’t be serious,” Niall laughs loudly, more than just a little drunk as the stripper grinds against a strategically placed pole, which just so happens to be located in the center of the dance floor, a group of party-goers forming a wide circle around the _live show_. 

The obnoxiously attractive stripper with gleaming skin and bulging biceps continues dancing, removing a piece of clothing for every move; the enthusiastic crowd screams loudly – aside from the _painfully_ straight boys who are watching everyone else with amused smiles or getting wasted at the bar.

“Of course I’m serious! What kind of birthday party would this be without a stripper? Honestly Niall…” Louis laughs, his voice playful as it drips with mock horror – _as if_ strippers are the foundation that ensures a memorable birthday party.

Niall is _hyper_ aware of Louis’ arm as it wraps casually around his waist and he forces himself to relax, trying not to let his mind run away with theories over what the friendly gesture could mean.

Louis takes a sip from his drink before leaning toward Niall, his forehead resting against Niall’s temple, “Go on up so he can give you a lap dance,” he insists, giving Niall’s bum a slight pinch in encouragement.

At first, Niall thinks Louis’ joking but as it turns out, he _isn’t_.

“Oh… God, no!” Niall exclaims when he’s suddenly ambushed by Louis and Harry who eagerly hoist him up before more or less tossing him onto the small stage. As Niall stumbles on his clumsy feet, the girls scream even louder, making his eardrums vibrate- which _can’t_ be healthy for his god damn ears. 

The male stripper - a gorgeous human with the whitest teeth Niall has ever seen and the most sultry dark eyes - smirks before keenly forcing Niall down on a - _once again, strategically placed_ cold, metal chair. He gracefully straddles him and then… yeah, he proceeds to give Niall a lap dance.

 _Oh.God_.

The scantily clothed stranger smells of strawberries, sex and just _man_ as he more or less grinds up against Niall in his tight, pink shorts which leave _little_ to the imagination; unfortunately, to Niall’s horror, he’s managed to grow painfully hard, _embarrassingly_ fast. 

Niall swallows thickly as the man’s slick body slides against his own, and he closes his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose in concentration, willing his erection to just _go the fuck away_ ; he can hear the crowd screaming as well as Louis and Harry cackling at the edge of the stage, but as he opens his eyes, all he can see is the glint in the man’s dark eyes and knowing smirk as he grinds against the obvious bulge in Niall’s pants. 

He eagerly runs his large hands through Niall’s hair, gripping the strands firmly as he leans down, pressing his lips against the blonde’s ear, “Aren’t you a _cute_ little thing,” he coos, placing more pressure on Niall’s cock and making him stifle a moan, “You’re friends are surely corrupting you- those are some _good_ friends,” the man purrs, allowing his lips to linger against Niall’s ear longer than necessary- not that Niall is complaining.

“I wonder in what other ways you need to be _corrupted_ ” he adds on, nipping lightly at the flesh of his ear lobe. 

For a split second, Niall forgets he’s getting a lap dance in the middle of a crowded fucking dance floor- for just a moment he really starts to lose it, but then the subtle thumping of the music and the loud cries of the excited girls surrounding the stage harshly bring him back to an excruciatingly _embarrassing_ reality.

Niall groans as he buries his face in the man’s slick chest, beyond mortified, because he isn’t so sure he’s ready to come in his pants in front of everyone. For some reason, he’s on complete edge and he feels like one more grind against his crotch will send him over the edge- which is quite pathetic considering he’s barely been touched. 

God… I need to get laid- and preferably _not_ by a popstar with a crazy on-again/off- again boyfriend, he thinks to himself.

Summoning all of his willpower, Niall pushes the man away; after offering a somewhat apologetic smile, he leaves the man confused as he scrambles off of the stage- where he manages to trip, falling directly into Louis’ arms.

“Dammit, Lou,” Niall whines, because thanks to _him_ , Niall has managed to get painfully hard with the whole party watching; Louis releases his hold on Niall, still laughing as the blonde walks awkwardly away from the throng of bodies- he has to get rid of this damn boner.

He only manages to get a few steps away, patting and adjusting his crotch as he squeezes his eyes closed, trying to think about Mrs. Harrison - his old, fat, cranky neighbor from back home – in a tiny polka dot bikini; Niall heaves a sigh of relief when the image of his horrid, nearly nude neighbor quickly begins to kill his boner – _thank fucking God_ \- He looks around, only to catch Zayn’s eyes, and well, he doesn’t look very happy.

“Let’s dance!” Louis shouts, startling Niall as he pops up behind him once again and Niall tears his eyes away from Zayn’s burning gaze as Louis drags him away- he doesn’t even resist as he’s lead into the frenzied crowd. 

Apparently, _dancing_ consists of Louis and Harry grinding against him, the latter touching him everywhere his grabby hands can reach. Louis is moving against his front, while Harry quite brazenly grips Niall’s hips as he dances roughly against his backside, and, really, Niall’s not sure if he’d consider himself in Hell or a heavenly paradise. He’s so caught up in being the crème filling to the Louis and Harry sandwich, he doesn’t even notice Zayn’s jealous glare from across the room.

The three of them keep at it, drinking shot after shot as a never-ending supply of drinks are delivered to them on extravagant crystalline trays; at this point, Niall is at that ‘I give no fucks whatsoever’ level of _drunk_ where he doesn’t really care and just laughs as Harry and Louis molest him with overly eager hands.

“To Niall!” Louis bellows over everyone, raising his drink in the air in order to follow through with his impromptu toast to Niall’s birth- and of course he manages to clumsily splash some on the floor in the process.

“To Niall!” the crowd echoes and Niall can’t stop the smile that’s been glued to his face all night long as it stretches impossibly larger. His face seriously _aches_ with how much he’s been grinning tonight. Feeling silly and brave with liquid courage as the alcohol prances happily through his veins, Niall also raises his glass in the air, “To me!” he cries, and his ears swarm with another outburst of cheers.

A few minutes later, Harry stays true to his unpredictable nature and ruthlessly shoves a poorly rolled joint - he pulled out of _onlygodknowswhere_ \- between Niall’s lips; without thinking further of it, Niall shrugs his shoulders, sucking in a long drag. His eyes are immediately swimming with tears as the thick smoke chokes him, burning his wimpy lungs and Niall becomes a coughing, spluttering mess. 

After composing himself and getting a few smacks on the back from concerned party-goers (all the while Louis and Harry just shake with maniacal laughter at poor Niall’s inexperienced expense), he _successfully_ tries again, and the buzz hits him almost instantly. Everything seems to be so much more vibrant and lively and just _fucking wonderful_. 

“I love you!” Niall yells out happily, slinging his arm around Louis’ neck and placing the join in his mouth. Louis smiles around the burning blunt, inhaling deeply before passing it along to some burly kid standing next to him; Niall scrunches up his nose when Louis turns and blows the smoke in his face, but starts laughing regardless because, well, _Louis_ is laughing and when Louis laughs… the world can’t help but to laugh with him. 

“I know!” Louis replies breathlessly, his tongue sliding deliciously over his red lips, “I love you too, Blondie!” he smiles and Niall grins widely as he goes in for a hug, inhaling Louis’ heavenly cologne and the faint scent of _boy_ as Louis places a hand on his lower back, returning the hug.

“Group hug!” Harry announces, wrapping his long arms around them both, and Niall figures they aren’t fighting anymore. All three of them laugh as they nearly trip over each other’s feet. Niall sighs as he’s being squeezed to death by some of his best friends; the world is such a nicer place when everyone is drunk and happy, he thinks.

All is good in the world until Louis’ shoulders suddenly stiffen and he ceases to move, his face morphing from soft smiles and rosy cheeks to hard lines and chilly eyes, “Are you fucking kidding me?” he growls, and Niall blinks, feeling completely confused as stops up as well, following Louis’ gaze, and then, _oh_ , he sees her. 

It’s Stacy Stone.

She is standing to the side and sipping daintily at a drink - along with a small group of followers - looking around with something akin to an annoyed expression but then she sees them looking, catches eyes with Louis and smirks.

“That _bitch_ ,” Louis snarls and makes to walk toward her, but Harry stops him with a hand around his wrist, “Let it go, Lou,” he slurs lightly, “just ignore her… don’t let her ruin tonight,” Harry almost begs, and Niall couldn’t agree more as he vigorously nods his head in concurrence, “Yeah, I don’t care if she’s here. Let’s dance!” he suggests, in hopes that he’ll distract him from Stacy, but alas, Louis shall not be deterred.

Louis doesn’t reply, he merely shrugs off Harry’s hand and barrels through the crowd. Niall and Harry exchange wary glances before following him.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” Louis demands through his teeth as soon as he’s in front of her. Stacy’s followers automatically cower behind her as she merely tilts her head to the side and paints on a mask of mocking innocence.

“Well, Louis, I came here for the party,” she states simply, blinking slowly as Louis sets his jaw in annoyance.

“You were not invited, Stacy” Louis clarifies.

“Yeah, maybe not… but I suppose it’s only fair that I crash your party like you crashed mine,” she mutters, her eyes shooting daggers. 

Louis lets out a mocking laugh, “ _Your_ party? Oh, sweetheart, the Legacy was never _your_ party,” he replies, his condescending tone causing a few chuckles from nearby eavesdroppers.

“Whatever,” Stacy finally answers, rolling her eyes, “but I must say, you were _finally_ going to get what you deserved for crashing my party and all the other shit you’ve pulled- but then _he_ ,” she spits accusingly as she looks at Niall with clear disdain in her eyes, “just _had_ to suggest a fundraiser, saving your sorry asses,” she continues, her eyes never leaving Niall’s.

There is a beat of silence before she’s speaking once more, “He clearly doesn’t realize what he’s doing,” she scoffs, giving Niall a look of downright disgust. 

Honestly, what the fuck? As far as Niall’s concerned, he’s never wronged Stacy in any way- merely by associating with her enemies as far as Niall can tell. So why the hell was she calling him out?

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Niall asks with an angry frown distorting his normally cheery smile.

“It means that you’re associating with a bunch of power-obsessed psychotic, rich kids that think they own whatever they lay their eyes on,” she answers with a pointed glare at Louis, then Harry, before resting her eyes on Niall once again, “They aren’t really your friends, I hope you realize that. They’ll lift you up as long as it benefits _them_ , only to let you fall flat on your face when you need them the most,” she warns, her eyes burning a sense of dread deep into Niall’s drunken mind and aching bones.

Niall swallows a little as a new uncomfortable silence surrounds him. He had immediately expected to be met with words of reassurance insisting that _of course_ that wasn’t true… that he was _in_ … that he was one of them… that he was _safe_. Louis had promised him after all. But rather than words of comfort, Niall looks up to see Stacy and Louis in what looks to be a silent conversation they seem to be in the middle of- using only narrowed eyes and angry sneers to convey their feelings.

“Don’t listen to her; everything she says is complete and utter bullshit,” Louis finally says, not taking his eyes off of Stacy as he continues, “She’s just very good at holding a grudge; the poor girl doesn’t seem to know _how_ to move on,” he patronizes, and Stacy’s eyes cloud with anger. Without saying another word, she turns on her heel and walks away, her small group of minions trailing behind her.

“You’re right, Niall” Louis says, turning around, “she’s not going to ruin your night… let’s party!” Louis insists as he hurries past him, disappearing into the packed bodies occupying the dance floor. Niall nods, casting a final glance after Stacy before shaking his head and following Louis and Harry back to the party.

 

+

 

Niall is standing on an iron balcony which happens to be decorated with two extravagant staircases on either side; he’s absentmindedly biting his lip as he watches over the party still going in full swing down below. He managed to sneak away in an attempt to catch his breath and sober up just a little, considering his head was still swimming in vibrant, swirling colors, which were honestly giving him one wicked migraine.

He’s not sure where Harry and Louis had gone off too, probably a dirty bathroom to squeeze in a dirty _fuck_ for all Niall knows, and he blatantly ignores the bitter jealousy clouding his own muddles thoughts. After seeking out Liam, Niall laughs when he sees him making a fool of himself, dancing like an idiot on top of a table while a group cheers him on. He’s watching Liam begin a terribly jerky and awkward strip tease when he’s suddenly startled as Zayn appears next to him.

“Hey, haven’t seen you all night,” Niall says and smiles at Zayn as his familiar scent begins relaxing him, “Oh, so you noticed, then?” Zayn asks flatly, “I figured you were too busy with Louis and Harry to even notice my absence,” he remarks, crossing his arms over his chest like a pouting five year old. 

Niall raises a brow at that, it wasn’t a lie, he truly had spent 90% of his night with those two idiots. After watching Zayn stand there, pout still perfectly in place, Niall uses his elbow and nudges the Prince gently in the side, “Don’t tell me you’re jealous that I didn’t get to spend time with you,” he teases, bumping his hip against a still sulking Zayn.

“I am _not_ ,” Zayn objects as if Niall has just accused him of wearing a red lace thong, and Niall laughs, knowing he clearly is – jealous, this is… not wearing a _thong_ , well, as far as Niall knows anyway.

When Niall looks over again, Zayn is studying him intently, and really, Niall will never get over how unfairly hot the annoying Prince is, with his high cheekbones and long eyelashes; oh, and don’t forget his wonderful, _pouty_ mouth.

“So, did you get everything you wanted, birthday boy?” Zayn asks, the ice slowly slipping out of his cold stare, being replaced with warm fondness as they hold each other’s gaze.

Niall smiles a bit shyly, gently biting his lip as he takes a tiny step closer, “Almost everything,” he whispers in what he _hopes_ is his seductive voice; his excited eyes slide down to rest shamelessly on Zayn’s lips for a second- yeah, Niall’s drunk and he’s feeling fucking daring.

Zayn breathes in deeply, darting his pink tongue out to lick his lips; Niall follows the motion hungrily. Zayn takes a step closer, dips his head a little and peers intensely into Niall’s eyes, their noses grazing the tiniest bit as the distance between them continues to shrink, “Almost, yeah? So what is it you’re missing?” he enquires, his voice dropping so low, Niall’s skin is riddled with immediate goose bumps.

Niall hesitates for a second, his conscience attempting to peek out from under the drunken haze and he remembers Perrie- how nice she is and how she even _defended_ him at that club in New York. But God, Zayn is so damn irresistible, it’s ridiculous and right now, he’s staring at Niall’s lips while biting his own.

“Come on,” Zayn urges, inching closer until Niall can smell the sweet liquor and feel the warmth of his breath as it glides over Niall’s lips, “Tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you in a heartbeat,” Zayn promises with a warm whisper that dances along Niall’s flushed skin.

Niall feels a rush of heat, like a little fireball coiling up, preparing to explode in the bit of his belly.

“I want…” he trails off, voice slightly hoarse as he lifts his gaze to Zayn’s radiant eyes- and, _God_ , were they always this dark and soul-consuming?

“Yeah?” Zayn mumbles impatiently, a hand coming up and gracing Niall’s hip. Niall breathes out heavily and opens his mouth, but he never gets a word out because just then a few drunken Privilege students come up to them, drunk and giggling.

“Come on, Niall! You _cannot_ stand around at your own party!” Amanda squeals and grabs him by the arm, tugging him away. Niall reluctantly follows, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Zayn who’s staring after him, clear annoyance in his eyes.

 

+

 

Later on - after even more dancing, laughing, singing, drinking, and slobbery birthday kisses - when Niall decides he needs some _breathing room_ , he manages to sneak away yet again, but this time, he finds an empty bedroom on the second floor. He closes the door behind him and walks up to the mirror, smiling at his image. He looks wasted- his eyes are swimming in laughter, his cheeks are blotchy and red and his hair is an absolute mess. He chuckles loudly at himself as his reflection smiles gleefully right back at him.

The morning he got into his father’s car and left his old life behind, he had known his life would change but he _never_ expected it to get this much better. He never thought he’d find a group of slightly insane but unique friends. In that moment, Niall couldn’t be happier with his life- even if his drunken haze _was_ shielding the terrible memories that still lurked in the deepest shadows of his mind.

The door opens suddenly and Niall’s lips quirk up in a smirk when Zayn slips inside, closing the door behind him, effectively scattering any of Niall’s bad memories that were definitely threatening to resurface. 

Niall isn’t surprised to see the Prince; he’d seen how Zayn had been watching him all night, and Niall had made sure to put on a show for him until Zayn looked beyond frustrated. 

“You never got to tell me what you missed from your birthday,” Zayn reminds, his voice loud in the quiet room. Niall spins around and in two long strides, he is in front of Zayn and with one impressive jump, he wraps his legs around Zayn’s waist, arms locked around his neck.

Zayn blinks, mouth open with surprise as his hands fly up to grab Niall’s ass so he can help support his weight. Niall brings his face close to Zayn’s and looks him dead in the eye, “I want my special birthday present, Zayn, I want it now,” he whispers and punctuates his sentence with a tug of Zayn’s silky, raven hair.

Zayn growls lowly in the back of his throat as his eyes focus in once more on Niall’s ever taunting lips, “Be more specific, baby,” he insists, and Niall can’t help but smirk as he watches Zayn’s _cool demeanor_ as it completely unravels, right beneath his fingertips.

Oh, Niall can be _very_ specific. 

“See that bed? I want you to throw me on it and do whatever you want to me,” he breathes hotly against Zayn’s ear, making him shiver, “I want you to make this a birthday I’ll _never_ forget. Can you do that, _Your Majesty_?” Niall asks, his gaze focused with destructive intent on Zayn’s lips as they draw even closer.

“God, _yes_ ,” Zayn growls before he smashes his eager lips against Niall’s in a bruising, teeth-clashing kiss. Niall moans into his mouth, their tongues meeting in the middle and tangling in a slippery mess as they breathe each other’s air and Zayn begins groping Niall’s backside, which is still nestled in his palms as he effortlessly holds the blonde boy tightly against his body.

Zayn blindly stumbles backwards, not for a second breaking the kiss until he feels the side of the bed knock against his legs which causes him to spin around before _literally_ throwing Niall on the bed. Niall blinks and the next second, Zayn is hovering over him, reminding him much of a hungry predator. He smirks, grabs him by the collar and tugs him down, reclaiming his lips.

Zayn grinds down hard, making their crotches collide and eliciting throaty moans from the both of them. The only sounds that can be heard are the garbled moans and groans they share as well as the smacking sound of lips moving feverishly in drunken haste. 

Niall throws his head back with a breathy gasp as Zayn works down the length of his neck, scattering love bites and turning his perfect porcelain skin to a red, blotchy mess. Their breathing becomes harsh and labored all the while Niall can’t help but feel like he’s far too hot and _far_ too over clothed. 

Having just read his mind, Zayn’s dark eyes are gleaming with lust as his hands slip under Niall’s shirt; tugging hastily, the Prince’s greedy fingertips leave trails of fire with every shallow graze of skin they touch. Niall makes an attempt to sit up and assist with the removal of his shirt, but is quickly shoved back down by Zayn.

“Oh _God_ …” Niall gasps when Zayn’s agile fingers manage to find his nipples, pinching one teasingly while nibbling the other with his sinful lips. Niall feels the blood rush to his crotch, stirring his cock to life; a breathy whimper escaping when Zayn twists a nipple between his fingers.

Zayn’s hot mouth continues sliding down Niall’s pliant body, kissing his stomach and the soft dark hair that leads _tauntingly_ to his crotch; without hesitation, he unbuckles Niall’s belt and crooks his fingers under the hem, bringing his pants down to his knees.

“Zayn, oh, _yes_ ,” Niall pants, squeezing his eyes shut; he feels his cock swelling while Zayn begins mouthing along his length through the thin fabric of his boxers. After a few more moments of torturous teasing, Zayn slowly trails his lips back up to Niall’s mouth, kissing him deeply; Niall feels utterly _breathless_.

“Do you have _any_ idea how _jealous_ I was when that stripper was all over you?” Zayn growls against his ear; he nibbles along Niall’s earlobe while his fingers tease the elastic band of his boxers. Niall shivers, and _God_ , jealous Zayn is hot Zayn, he thinks.

“Don’t you _dare_ let another man touch like that again,” Zayn whispers so harshly, Niall becomes enveloped with goose bumps. Honestly, he’s not sure if Zayn is being serious or role playing, but _holy fuck_ it’s hot regardless.

“Or what?” Niall asks daringly, meeting Zayn’s narrowed eyes boldly with a rebellious glare of his own.

Niall’s defiance is short-lived however, being as he chokes on his next breath when Zayn slips his hand into his boxers, grabbing his length roughly in his iron fist, “Or I’ll have to punish you,” Zayn replies, his voice sultry and rough, “and _trust me_ … you wouldn’t want that.”

Niall tilts his head to catch Zayn’s mouth, whispering against his parted lips, “I don’t know,” he breathes, sliding his tongue along Zayn’s bottom lip, “It sounds kind of hot.”

“God, you’re such a _slut_ for me,” Zayn groans, tugging Niall’s cock and making him throw his head back with a moan of his name.

Their gazes remain locked and their breath mingled as their lips ghost over one another while Zayn tugs Niall’s cock in smooth, urgent strokes. Niall is just starting to feel the fire of his orgasm as it pools in his lower belly until- suddenly, the door flies open, startling them both as it slams against the wall.

Just like that, Zayn is nearly crushing Niall’s dick in a vice grip and the moment is completely ruined as Louis, Harry and Liam waltz in. They freeze, their eyes wide and almost comical when they see what’s going on- as do Zayn and Niall. However, Zayn is definitely _still_ gripping Niall’s dick a bit too tightly and Niall _may or may not_ feel tears stinging his eyes because of the pressure.

After that, a few moments of painfully awkward silence follow; Zayn’s still on top of Niall - _hand in his boxers_ \- and the other three are gaping at them with open mouths. Finally, Louis subtly clears his throat and the spell seems to break as Zayn and Niall blush madly and clumsily untangle themselves from one another.

“So that’s it!” Harry exclaims, pointing at them, “Niall wanted exotic dick all along!” he cries loudly, cackling like a madman as his eyes roam hungrily over the two _(still blushing)_ boys.

 _Oh, God._ If only the bed would open up and swallow him, Niall thinks as he scrambles to get his shirt on and button his jeans.

“Awe… would ya look at that? It’s just like a fairy tale,” Louis chimes in with a wicked grin, “ _the wealthy prince and the poor scholarship boy fall madly in love_ … hmmm, has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? You could even write a book about your sex-capades,” he mocks.

“Oh my God, _Louis_ ,” Niall groans and hides his face in a pillow. He peeks out to see Liam’s reaction, and _of course_ , he looks very disappointed. Well shit.

“What about Perrie?” Liam asks, tainting the air with guilt and shame but Zayn pointedly ignores him, thank God.

“I have a great idea!” Harry announces striding over with a noticeable bounce in his step, “Let’s have an orgy,” he suggests gleefully before throwing himself onto the bed. He grabs Niall around the waist, “we could all take turns, just passing you around… you’d _love_ that, wouldn’t you?” Harry whispers loudly as he playfully pulls Niall against his chest; Niall squeezes his eyes shut as a filthy array of images flash along his mind- and _God_ , Niall fights an internal battle as he desperately tries to hide the blush that is creeping up his neck. 

Niall breathes harshly against Harry’s chest; he attempts to push him away but loses his momentum because he can just _feel_ all eyes on him, his delicate flesh burning under their curious gazes. Zayn must finally snap out of his sudden shock of Harry’s notoriously _dirty mouth_ because _thankfully_ , before Harry can continue to molest Niall any further, Zayn unceremoniously kicks him off of the bed. Thank God for Zayn.

“Fuck off Styles,” he says, obvious venom coating his usually silky voice. 

“Oooh, look who’s being possessive,” Harry mutters, frowning up at the Prince but not before giving Niall a subtle wink, and, ugh- why does he have to be so God damn horny?

“Anyways!” Louis says, throwing an annoyed scowl at Harry before turning and beaming at Niall, “We didn’t come to cockblock you, but we want to give you a birthday presents.”

Niall peeks up from where he’s hiding under a pillow, suddenly interested, “Oh, yeah?” he asks, curiosity getting the best of him.

“Yeah, come on,” Louis waves them along, and Niall climbs off the bed once he’s sure there’s got no visible boner in his jeans. 

As soon as they make their way onto the balcony, they’re met with complete mayhem; girls are screaming and crying, people are running around, and there are obnoxious amounts of banging and crashing coming from every direction.

“What the _fuck_ is going on!?” Louis exclaims as they all rush over to survey the party. It takes them a few moments to notice what’s going on.  
 _Party crashers_. 

They stick out in the crowd like a bunch of sore thumbs; most seem to be in their twenties and all look remarkably underdressed compared to the Prescott kids.

In the middle of everything, Niall can spy a large gathering where it looks like a fight is about to happen between a couple of the party crashers and their fellow students.

“Who the hell let them in?” Harry yells and Niall’s eyes automatically seem to land on Stacy; she’s standing a little ways away, looking just as scared and confused as everyone else, but then again, the girl could be acting for all he knows.

“Danielle!” Liam exclaims and Niall follows his eyes and spots her downstairs where an older guy is shamelessly hitting on her, grabbing while she struggles against him. Liam immediately rushes down the stairs to her rescue and they all follow suit.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!?” Louis yells at one of the party crashers but the guy just laughs loudly and pushes Louis out of the way, helping himself to more booze. Niall is beginning to panic, because things are getting really out of control, _really_ fast.

“Oh look! Isn’t that the _pop star_ boy that’s always on the fucking T.V?” A guy whose face is decorated by piercings says, leering at Harry. 

Harry frowns, quickly stepping away - everyone knows he more of a lover than a fighter - but the punk with piercings is having _none of that_ as he takes a step closer, “Hey, come on pretty boy, aren’t you even going to give me a smile?” the stranger mocks and roughly grabs Harry around the arm, tugging him against his chest.

“Hey!” Zayn and Niall protest at the same time, moving forward to interfere but Louis is faster and punches the guy so hard, he falls flat on his ass.

Louis looks down at him with a deathly glare, “Don’t touch him with your _filthy hands_ , you fucking twat!” he spits, refusing to back down even though the guy’s eyes have turned murderous and Niall is more than a little worried about his retaliation. 

“You little faggot!” the punk roars, jumping quickly to his feet before lunging directly for Louis. Zayn puts out a leg and trips him so that he stumbles clumsily on his feet until he crashes into a glass table, the glass splintering under his huge weight. Niall bites his lip to stop from outright laughing at the absurdity of it all.

“Hey!” a few other _crashers_ yell from across the room; they must have seen everything because they are quickly approaching, a look of ill placed vengeance swimming in their crazed eyes. 

“Fuck this, let’s get out of here,” Louis says, grabbing Harry’s hand before they quickly flee, disappearing into the crowd. Everyone is pushing and bumping into each other, the chaos causing Niall to quickly lose sight of the others.

He comes to a stop, standing dumbly in the middle of the room as he looks around, trying to find _anyone_ he recognizes. He thinks he hears his name being called, but when he turns to look, all he sees are people stopping and looking up in horror as they focus on something over his head.

Niall feels a chill stinging his spine as he slowly follows their speechless gazes, but before he can even look up, a much closer voice gains his attention, “Oh my God! Niall! Look out!” the familiar voice yells, but his mind is too boggled to place it. 

Niall finally looks up just in time to see a large, twinkling chandelier hurtling towards the ground, directly above him. Everything begins moving in slow motion; Niall freezes and swallows thickly as his life flashes before his horrified eyes. He watches in sick fascination as the glass deathtrap gets closer and closer, promising to splatter him all over the dance floor; even though he wills his legs to just fucking _move_ \- he’s completely frozen by the fear that grips his bones and keeps him in place.

Niall is mere seconds away from sure _death_ as he feels someone grab him around the waist and he’s pulled a few precious feet to the left, just as the gorgeous crystal chandelier crashes loudly to the ground- completely shattering where Niall had just stood moments before. 

Niall tries to regain his breath being as it was knocked out of him as soon as he’d hit the ground; with wide eyes, he finally looks up at the dark haired boy who is hovering over him in a protective crouch, “Z-Zayn?” Niall gasps, tears stinging his eyes; Niall turns his head to peer at the devastating wreckage once more before he reaches up, throwing his arms around Zayn’s neck as he clings even tighter to him.

“Oh God, _Niall_ , are you alright?” Zayn asks frantically and looks him over with big, concerned eyes. Zayn holds himself up with one arm as he brushes his fingers worriedly across Niall’s cheek, where he seems to have gotten sliced by a stray piece of glass. He’s not bleeding much, but Zayn uses his sleeve to dab at the shallow cut, apologizing when Niall winces at the sting.

Niall nods, regardless of the cut, letting him know that he actually is okay- _thanks to Zayn, at least_.

After a few seconds of silence that the fallen chandelier brings about, the room quickly erupts into even more frantic screams and chaotic pushing and shoving. As Niall and Zayn lay next to the pile of rubble and glass, Niall tries to keep the tears from falling as Zayn strokes his uninjured cheek, “P-Please, tell me that was an accident,” he whispers, and Zayn shakes his head, “I… I don’t know how it came down,” he says softly, biting his lip as he attempts to pull Niall to his feet, nearly dragging him to a vacant hallway – because _for god’s sake, who knows how many other loose chandeliers they got flying around here?_

Niall leans against the wall and he sighs, nuzzling his face into Zayn’s neck as the older boy’s arms wrap around him in what feels like a protective shield. Niall leans closer into the Prince as Zayn kisses his forehead, followed by his cheeks, and honestly, Niall’s never felt more protected or cherished in his life.

In the distance, the sound of police siren’s fill the crowded room and that just makes everyone panic even more.

“Shit,” Zayn mutters against Niall’s neck and Niall can only agree.

Maybe it isn’t the single, best night of his life.

But then he feels one last subtle brush of Zayn’s lips against his neck, and reconsiders entirely.

 

+

 

Headmistress Jensen isn’t amused at all when that very night, the students of Privilege House are escorted back to the school by the police, and no matter how hard Louis tries to explain that it _wasn’t their fault_ because a bunch of idiots crashed their party, she doesn’t listen. However, she says she’ll deal with them after the fundraiser, and well, that’s something. Niall had been sure she’d kick them all out of school right away.

Louis is _beyond_ furious the very next morning.

“It was all Stacy’s doing, I just _know_ it,” he hisses that morning as they all gather around the table. 

“I don’t know,” Niall interjects, “after all, she did get a busted lip as well,” he reminds Louis, recalling how upset Stacy had looked when they’d been taken down to the police station like a bunch of _criminals_.

Niall absentmindedly trails his own fingertips across the bandage on his cheek which Zayn had _insisted_ he wear after they got back to the dorm; a light pink tinge heats his face when he feels the gaze of _those_ amber eyes on him from across the table. For some reason, the fact that Zayn _saved him_ has made Niall grow even more fond of the Prince, for obvious reasons. Talk about a knight in shining armor- or a Prince in a leather jacket, Niall thinks with a smile.

“Who else would it be?” Louis asks sarcastically, causing Niall to stop obnoxiously stroking his band aid and look warily back toward the agitated boy.

Louis suddenly rolls his eyes and flips open his phone, holding it up for everyone to see; everyone squints in an attempt to see what’s on the small screen. After a few seconds of thorough inspection, Niall decides it looks like a crashed car. 

“ _That_ ,” Louis says, his eyes stormy, “ _was_ your birthday present, Niall,” he clarifies, as Niall’s eyes go wide with gratitude.

“Oh! You got me a car?” Niall asks, a grin spreading across his face while Louis narrows his eyes, “In case you hadn’t noticed… the damn thing was _destroyed_ last night,” Louis reminds him dryly.

“Yeah, but it’s the thought that counts right?” Niall tries; he’s still feeling quite giddy about the overall gesture, regardless of how much Louis is attempting to squish his spirits.

“Take a closer look at the hood,” Louis says, stomping his imaginary almighty boots on any remnants of Niall’s short-lived giddiness. 

Everyone squints once more, taking a closer look. After a few seconds, he realizes someone had sprayed all over the hood with a fiery red color; Niall moves even closer and narrows his eyes to read the words scribbled in the angry red paint:

**ENJOY THE PARTY WHILE YOU STILL CAN**

Niall feels a cold shiver bolt down his spine as he ungracefully falls back down on his ass, his chair making a loud thud at the sudden impact, “What is that supposed to mean?” Liam asks; he has a bandage around his forehead, compliments of when someone threw a flask at him last night. 

“Is that supposed to be a joke?” Harry adds, but looks slightly alarmed.

“I don’t think so,” Louis says, pushing the phone back into his pocket, “I think someone is out to get _us_ ,” he whispers, swiping his hair out of his face before clenching his jaw in annoyance.

There’s a beat of silence as they let that sink in. Niall remembers the chandelier that out of nowhere almost killed him, and he feels cold dread wrap itself around his heart. He hopes dearly that Louis isn’t right- but unfortunately, it seems Louis is _usually_ right about these things.

He’s barely even had a chance to think this new revelation through when the doors to the cafeteria suddenly swing open and a group of four police officers stride in, detective Palmer leading the pack. Their steel eyes scan the suddenly quiet crowd and when their hard gaze rests on _their_ table, Niall feels his heart jump into his throat, blocking his airway completely.

Niall can _feel_ the collective intake as everyone holds their breath, watching with worried expressions as the police officers take long, purposeful strides, and walk right up to their table, “Harry Styles?” one of them barks, and Harry looks up with wide, scared eyes, “Y- yes?” he stammers, obviously just as baffled as everyone else as to why on earth these police officers seem to be calling _him_ out.

“You’re under arrest,” the man says shortly, allowing the words to sink in to everyone around him.

They all freeze and a shared gasp echoes throughout the crowded dining hall as one of the police officers grabs Harry roughly around the arm and hauls him onto his feet. Harry looks around with confused, frantic eyes as the man pulls his arms behind is back with an unnecessary amount of force before slapping handcuffs onto his wrists; Harry’s eyes meets Louis’ and that’s when Louis jumps to his feet.

“What the fuck?! For what!?” he demands, looking Detective Palmer right in his beady little eyes.

“For the murder of Joshua Devine,” Detective Palmer discloses with a grim expression.

Harry goes pale so fast, Niall is afraid he might faint; Niall watches his friend grow more terrified by the second and his heart squeezes into a tight knot until he can’t breathe any longer.

“Bullshit! Let him go!” Louis cries and impulsively lunges for Harry, but one of the police officers grabs him by the shoulders, forcing him back.

“I didn’t do it! I swear!” Harry says in a near hysterical voice, tears already pricking his round eyes. 

Detective Palmer merely offers him a cold stare, “That’s _enough_ Styles!” He orders, “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” he says loudly as he begins spewing the Miranda Rights in the poor boy’s startled face.

Niall feels like he’s watching a terrible _Lifetime movie_ as he sits perfectly still: unable to blink, unable to move, unable to breathe. 

Everyone remains utterly still, _shocked_ into complete silence. Everyone _but_ Louis, that is. Louis is always the first to take action. Niall watches sadly as Louis screams and thrashes against the police officer who is still holding him in place, as the others lead a petrified looking Harry away.

“Harry!” he cries repeatedly, not even caring that his indifferent demeanor and cool composure are falling apart in front of _everyone_ , “he didn’t do anything! You’re all fucking crazy!” Louis shouts as he continues to struggle against the officer’s firm hold.

“Mr. Tomlinson! Get a hold of yourself” Headmistress Jensen reprimands as she arrives on the scene, trying to calm Louis down by scolding him into submission- but Louis is too far gone.

“Screw you! Why don’t you fucking _do_ something?” He shouts back at her, his eyes set on where Harry is currently being lead through the mass of shocked students, “Harry!” he cries out one last time, but it’s too late; the doors swing open then closed and Harry is _gone_.

“We found the murder weapon,” the police officer states, “it was a baseball bat,” he mumbles over the students who are suddenly growing loud with hushed whispers and excited gossip.

Louis stops thrashing before turning to face the man, “So _fucking_ what!” he hisses through clenched teeth.

“It was _Harry Styles’_ baseball bat,” the officer clarifies, with almost a bored look etched on to his emotionless face.

And just like that, Niall’s world spins and spins until it’s crashing all around him, ending up in ruins on the cafeteria floor.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **MASSIVE thank you to Maddy for putting so much effort and time into editing the chapters! I love you, babe x**

Chapter 18

It is everywhere- Harry’s arrest seems to be plastered on every magazine cover and news venue Niall lays his eyes on, and the constant reminders do nothing to help Louis’ dangerously short temper. Ever since Harry was arrested a few days ago, Louis has made it a habit to snap at the smallest of things, making everyone tiptoe around him, afraid to be the subject of his wrath.

Currently, they’re sitting at dinner and Louis is throwing _another_ fit, “This is such bullshit!” he exclaims and tears the newspaper he’d been reading into tiny bits and pieces; Niall winces at the sudden raise of his voice and violent paper shredding.

“You should probably stop reading that,” Liam says warily, but Louis completely disregards his advice as he continues showing the newspaper who’s boss, making it regret the day it was printed as Louis continues reading each page with a scowl before crumbling it up.

Niall understands why Louis _can’t_ simply stop reading; just like when you’re on the highway and you see a couple of wrecked cars pulled off on the side of the road, you can’t help but slow down and stare at the destruction. Hell, even Niall had found himself reading some disturbing articles about Harry on the internet the other night.

The media seems to be having a field day with the juicy scandal of a teen celebrity being accused of the murder of a prep school student. Most of the twitter trends have focused on Harry for days as well, and his fans around the globe seem to be going crazy. Niall even heard rumors about fans taking _drastic measures_ and he really hopes for all in the world that those are just rumors.

All of them are under even tighter surveillance now, and they can’t leave campus without permission. Apparently the paparazzi have camped just outside the gates, salivating at the chance of any insight from the students. To say the reputation of Prescott Academy has taken a nosedive would be an understatement - a student being murdered is one thing, but another student being accused is something else entirely -and Headmistress Jensen looks 10 years older as more parents pull their children out of school - _most of them freshmen_ \- because they don’t want their kids to be associated with a school where a ‘murderous’ pop star attends.

Things are messy and complicated and Niall hasn’t slept properly since Harry was taken away, and judging from the dark circles under Louis’ eyes, Niall assumes he hasn’t either. But apart from the dark circles, he looks flawless.

“I’m sure he’s going to be released soon,” Zayn says softly, “I mean, his parents are _both_ successful lawyers. They’ve got to have something up their sleeve,” he adds on to an unresponsive Louis.

 _Oh, Harry is son of lawyers? You learn something new every day._ Niall thinks as he tries to swallow his pasta.

“I mean, we all know he didn’t do it,” Zayn clarifies, finally gaining Louis’ attention, “Of course he didn’t,” Louis agrees, barely sparing Zayn a glance as his eyes begin scanning what’s left of the newspaper once more, “Someone framed him and I swear to God when I find out who, they’ll wish they were never born,” he spits through clenched teeth.

Just then, Stacy Stone’s laughter rings out loudly as she passes through the door; she’s clinging shamelessly to a tall guy and her obnoxious laugh travels around the room. Louis’ jaw clenches tightly as he closes his eyes in annoyance. 

“Why would someone frame him, though?” Liam asks with big eyes, “I don’t remember him having enemies.”

Niall can’t help but feel like whoever is doing this isn’t trying to punish Harry directly- more like punish the people close to him. Seriously, the more Niall thinks about it, the more he wonders how many enemies Louis may have acquired throughout his stay in Privilege House; the list is undoubtedly a mile long.

“Wish I knew,” Louis huffs and angrily shoves a piece of chicken into his mouth, “They won’t even let me see him,” he says, his voice deflated.

They won’t let any of them see him really, and Niall can’t help but imagine him locked up in some tiny cell, all alone and scared. His heart twists. Niall doesn’t believe for a single second that Harry would ever be capable of murder. He’d seen firsthand how broken Harry was after Josh’s death and how much he cried at the funeral. Someone obviously has something big against Harry for framing him with his baseball bat.

The thought alone makes Niall’s throat close up and his eyes sting. Someone fucking murdered Josh with a baseball bat - smashed his head in with it - the visual makes the bile rise in Niall’s throat and he gasps for air, the tears jumping up into his eyes quite unexpectedly.

“Niall? You alright?” a much too observant Zayn asks, raising a worried brow as he softly touches his shoulder.

Niall swallows thickly, “Yeah… I’m fine,” he whispers, clearing his throat as he tries to rein in his emotions.

_But, it’s a lie. He’s not fine. He feels like complete shit._

 

+

 

Later, the same night, Niall is lying wide awake. It’s late and he’s sprawled out on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as he listens to Conrad’s soft snoring; he’s not sure how long he’s been lying in the same position, but when his eyes eventually wander over to the alarm clock, he sees it’s nearing one in the morning. 

He can’t sleep. All his mind can circle around is _Harry. Josh. Harry. Josh. Baseball Bat. Harry. Jail._

And who it is that is trying to hurt them. His thoughts also manage to travel to the chandelier that almost fell on top of him at his birthday party, and he feels cold fear clench his heart. 

He wonders if the same person that hurt Josh is trying to hurt them as well, but no matter how many different ways he tries to spin it, he can’t help but wonder _why_? Niall groans loudly as his head fills with too many questions and not nearly enough answers; he can definitely feel a headache coming on.

A little later, Niall finds himself tiptoeing down the hallway clad in his SpongeBob boxers and white tee shirt- and somehow he _miraculously_ ends up in front of Louis’ room. He lingers awkwardly, internally debating the pros and cons before growing a pair and knocking his knuckles gently against the door; he doesn’t bother waiting for a reply before opening the door and stepping inside.

The room is bathed in the dim light of a lamp on the nightstand and a cool breeze catches Niall’s attention as he notices the glass door to the balcony is slightly ajar. Niall creeps toward the balcony, peeking outside to see Louis is leaned against the railing, smoking a cigarette- he also happens to notice that Louis is sporting a tiny pair of boxers-briefs and nothing else.

After a few seconds, Louis glances over his shoulder, spotting Niall. He doesn’t seem surprised and simply gestures for Niall to join him outside. Niall steps quietly beside him, shuddering when the cold chews at his exposed skin and he wonders how Louis can stand outside in the chilly autumn air - _practically naked_ – without freezing up.

Niall whispers a quiet _hello_ as he leans against the railing, turning his head to study Louis’ tense shoulders and ever-present scowl. Louis doesn’t acknowledge Niall’s greeting- instead, just extending his hand to offer up a drag from his cigarette, which, really, is as good a greeting as any, Niall thinks.

Niall wordlessly accepts the offer, taking the already half burned cigarette between his fingers; he sucks in deeply, allowing the smoke to engulf his burning lungs and the nicotine to soothe his nerves before handing it back to Louis once again. They just stand like that for a short while, sharing the cigarette and silently staring over the ominously quiet campus. 

Niall follows the dance of a few brown leaves along the cobble path, before finally speaking up, “Everything is going to be okay, right?” he asks quietly and glances over as Louis takes a final drag of his cigarette before stubbing it out in the ashtray.

“Yes,” Louis assures, his voice quite uncharacteristically low, “I’ll make sure of it,” he promises as he looks at him with his sharp, ocean blue eyes and Niall can’t help but think that Louis is one of the most handsome guys he’s ever laid eyes on as he continues, “Don’t worry your pretty little head,” he coos with a gentle smile, patting Niall lightly on top of his head.

A feeling of calm envelops Niall at that point; he realizes that he doesn’t have to hear more, Louis promised _everything_ would turn out alright, and Niall can’t help but just _believe_ him. Louis has this uncanny ability to make things seem alright even if they’re going to _shit_ , and that’s probably the reason Niall feels inexplicably drawn to him lately.

“Yeah,” Niall agrees and smiles, pushing himself away from the balcony, “Thanks, Lou. I’ll just go back to my room, now,” he mumbles and turns around.

“Wait,” Louis objects and the plain urgency in his voice causes Niall to freeze, looking back at him.

“Stay, yeah? I feel a little lonely without Harry,” Louis admits, and Niall gets the sudden urge to hug him, but he resists, choosing instead to just give him a blazing smile, “Sure,” he whispers, trailing after Louis as he reenters the room.

As Louis crawls into his bed, Niall stands in the middle of the room awkwardly, not sure of where exactly Louis is expecting him to sleep. Niall glances at Harry’s cold, empty bed and, _honestly_ , the thought of sleeping in it feels incredibly wrong.

Niall is startled out of his _‘where am I supposed to sleep’_ debate when he hears Louis calling to him, “C’mere,” he whispers and pats a space next to him under the covers. Niall is a little surprised that he’s asking him to sleep in his bed, but hey, it’s no secret that he’ll do just about _anything_ for Louis; he just feels like he owes him a lot for all the good things that have happened since he’s been enrolled at Prescott, and honestly, most of those good things are directly _because of_ Louis.

So he walks over and crawls in next to the intimidating boy with the constant fire in his eyes- but in this moment, he just reminds Niall of a cuddly little teddy bear. Niall tenses slightly as he feel’s Louis arms wrap around him: it’s one thing to sleep in Louis’ bed, but he sure as hell never expected for Louis to cuddle into him, pressing every inch of his warm body against Niall, arm wrapped around his waist and head tucked into the crook of Niall’s neck.

“Hope you don’t mind,” Louis mutters, voice already heavy with sleep.

“Uh-not at all,” Niall stutters, and a few seconds later, he’s very aware of Louis’ warm breath as it begins to even out and flows along the back of Niall’s neck, indicating he’s fallen asleep.

Niall gulps loudly. 

Niall shouldn’t be feeling this hot, should he? He shouldn’t be so aware of Louis, should he? But he is, and Louis is _so_ close that Niall can smell all of him and it’s turning out to be a _huge_ problem. 

A huge problem in his southern region. 

He gulps again and tries to calm himself down as he wonders when his hormones got this out of control, because his thoughts weren’t taking an innocent detour at _all_ , and Louis wouldn’t be sleeping so soundly if he knew the blazing thoughts that were going through Niall’s mind.

Niall tilts his head to the side and peers down at Louis, andGod, if Louis looks anything less than an angel - his features smoothed out, all soft and peaceful, pink lips slightly puckered - a far cry from the slightly insane, slightly evil, mischievous person he is in the daylight. As Niall’s quick glance turns into a long, creepy stare, he finds himself wanting to taste Louis’ lip.

The second he thinks it, he feels guilty as fuck and just a little like a horny pervert that leers at his friend in his sleep, and he knows it’s going to be one, long awkward night.

 

+

 

“You look like shit,” Jordan states bluntly the next morning, when Niall drags himself to his third class of the day. Niall glares lightly at him before ungracefully dropping down into the next seat.

“Thank you,” he says sarcastically, and Jordan offers an apologetic grin. 

“Are you alright?” Jordan asks, and Niall tries to ignore the stares of his fellow classmates as they attempt to _subtly_ listen in for his answer, “I’ve been better,” Niall answers flatly, attempting to keep his heavy eyelids open, which has been a real struggle the whole morning. 

Niall groans loudly before he slumps over in his seat; that’s what happens when you stay awake half the night in fear that your perverted subconscious mind might take over once you fall asleep and molest an unsuspecting friend – like an, unavailable, ridiculously handsome friend - who happened to be cuddling innocently against you. 

Niall groans again, deciding he is going to load up on caffeine at lunch, at this rate, he’s going to _bleed_ caffeine.

“So, have you heard anything from Harry?” Jordan whispers cryptically, and Niall frowns a little.

“No, have you?” he counters, a bit wary of where this conversation may be heading.

Jordan rolls his eyes, “I think you’d know before me,” he states matter of factly, “I wish there’d come some solid facts rather than all of these crazy rumors swarming the campus.”

At these words, Niall’s face snaps towards Jordan so fast, he fears he might dislocate his own neck.

“Rumors?” he asks hoarsely, and Jordan looks surprised before scooting a little closer, “You haven’t heard? There’s all this crazy shit going around about Harry…” he trails off as Niall frowns, not liking the sound of _that_ ; rumors are monsters, all-destroying monsters. Harry has enough on his plate already without worrying about all of the nasty things going around campus, “What rumors?” he asks warily.

“Well, for one, they’re saying that Harry has mental issues, or some kind of traumatic past, some say he has anger issues and might have… _youknow_ ,” Jordan says, referring to Josh’s murder, because it’s just too gruesome to mention it out loud, and Niall nods grimly in understanding, “…when he was having angry fit,” Jordan finishes, before shaking his head firmly in order to clear the images from his mind.

Niall snorts, shaking his head dismissively, “Harry _doesn’t_ have anger issues,” he says loudly enough for everyone to hear, and he knows they are listening in, even though they’re pretending not to, “He’s the calmest, _nicest_ , most down-to-earth guy, I’ve ever met. He’d never do anything to hurt Josh,” Niall insists, because, really, he’s _seen_ Harry upset and angry, and the most the boy had ever done was insult Niall’s _hypothetical_ blowjobs skills, that one time Niall refused to suck him off in New York. _Sure_ , the guy was definitely a sexual deviant… but a murderer? No _fucking_ way.

There’s a collective murmur around the classroom, and Niall prays they don’t turn and twist his words to create another idiotic rumor.

He sighs happily when the teacher enters the class and wonders if he can take a quick nap without the teacher noticing. However, Mrs. Almond, has small, piercing hawk-like eyes, so it isn’t very likely.

 

+

 

“You look…tired,” Liam comments when Niall joins them at their table in the café loaded with coffee and pastries and Niall figures it’s Liam’s polite way of saying looks like he’s been run down by truck- which he undoubtedly feels like. He sneaks a peek across the table at Louis who happens to be scrolling through his phone and well, he looks worthy of being on the front page of a magazine; of course, he _had_ been sleeping on Niall like a baby, so.

“Yeah,” Niall just says and drops down on the chair next to Zayn. Zayn brushes his knuckles along the length of his hand and Niall immediately retracts his hand, avoiding Zayn’s confused look. He can’t keep doing this while smiling at Perrie every day, he feels like a _boyfriend stealing_ asshole. Since when did he sink to this level? He resolutely decides to tell Zayn when he gets the chance that they can’t keep doing this and hurt Perrie when they both care about her.

_“It totally doesn’t surprise me, the fame probably got to his head and he went berserk; you can’t imagine what that worldwide attention can do to a person...”_

They all freeze, their eyes snapping towards the hushed voices, landing on a couple of sophomore girls passing near their table. Niall’s gaze nervously shifts back to Louis and he gulps when he sees the storm raging behind his cloudy blue eyes.

“Loui-“

“What _the fuck_ did you just say?” Louis spits, already on his feet, and the girls’ freeze, their skin going pale under their makeup and eyes wide as saucers as they stare back in guilty disbelief; they obviously hadn’t noticed them sitting there. 

“Uh… n-nothing,” one of them stutters.

“Don’t you _dare_ talk about him like you know him,” Louis snaps, his eyes burning with anger, “I’ve heard what pathetic people like _you_ entertain yourselves with- don’t you have anything better to do with your pathetic lives!?” he exclaims, crossing his arms over his chest as he glares down at the trembling sophomores.

It’s quite apparent the girls are quivering and they look as if they may burst into tears any second now, but Niall can’t say that he feels particularly bad for them.

“Louis,” Liam mutters quietly, gently grabbing his arm but Louis violently shakes him off, “No! I’m so _sick_ of all this bullshit!” Louis yells harshly, and before Niall even realizes what’s happening, the angry boy is climbing atop their table, “Listen!” he shouts, his voice bouncing off of the walls and everyone stops what they’re doing to stare up at him, “Harry is fuckinginnocent! You got that!? I swear to God, if I hear anything else from someone’s mouth, I’ll be dealing with them personally,” he promises, a sinister glint in his eye as looks around the coffee house, somehow managing to glare at each and every person in the room.

The café is deadly silent, no one daring to even breathe.

And with that, Louis jumps off the table, landing gracefully on his feet and storming out the café. Niall can’t help but snicker as a group of girls nearly fall over each other at the rush they’re in to get out of his way. As soon as Louis is out of sight, the café bursts into confused murmurs and animated chatter.

“Ok, I’m getting worried,” Zayn states, his eyes still trained on the door in which Louis has disappeared through. 

“We all are,” Niall agrees, his eyes shifting from the door and meeting Zayn’s worried gaze over the table before awkwardly looking away.

 

+

 

Later that evening, Niall is running late for dinner because he’d spent much too long in the shower. He had hoped that standing under the scalding heat of the water would rinse his thoughts away- but alas, _it didn’t._

He is hurrying down the empty cobble path - hair still slightly damp and he knows he’ll probably end up with a cold - when he sees a figure ducking out from around the hall. He automatically comes to a stop, his heart beating loudly. Ever since Josh’s brutal death, he hasn’t felt safe around campus, let alone now when someone is clearly trying to hurt them.

But then as the person passes under one of the streetlights, he instantly recognizes the tight, purple chinos. _It’s Louis._ He is wearing a hoodie, covering his face, hands buried in his pockets as he hurries across campus. 

_What on earth are you up to?_ , Niall mumbles under his breath, he hesitates just a moment longer, before sneaking after him.

Louis stops at the line of trees in front of Hull Hall, _the teachers’ building_ , carefully peeking out as he hides behind a weathered tree. Niall stands a few feet behind him for a couple of seconds before stepping forward and tapping him on the shoulder. Louis jumps high in the air, his eyes wide and completely startled as he turns to face a curious looking Niall.

“ _Niall_ ,” he hisses, pulling him behind the tree as well, “Are you trying to scare me to death!?” he whisper-yells, still peeking from behind the tree in an attempt to make sure his cover hadn’t been blown.

“Sorry,” Niall whispers, “But what are we doing?” he asks, watching carefully as he studies an incredibly focused looking Louis.

“ _We_ are not doing anything,” Louis clarifies as he narrows his eyes, “just go back and have your dinner,” he insists, giving Niall a half-hearted shove back the way he came.

“But-“Niall argues with a frown, but is quickly cut off my Louis.

“Shhh!” Louis clamps a hand over his mouth just as the door to Hull Hall opens and a teacher accompanied by a woman walks out talking and laughing quietly. Niall glances at Louis, not entirely sure why he’s spying on them, “Go back, Niall,” Louis insists as he releases him and crouches forward.

The woman opens the car door and gets inside, but doesn’t close it as the teacher leans over and continues to chat with her. Louis suddenly sprints forward, still slightly crouched and Niall watches with astonished eyes as he nearly tiptoes the last few feet to the car. Niall’s mouth falls wide open and he continues watching as Louis ever so stealthily slips right into the trunk, the couple much too consumed with one another to even notice.

 _What.the.actual.fuck_ \- Niall is slowly beginning to think that Louis has gone off his rocker completely. 

While waiting a few moments in suspenseful agony, he groans lowly because he’s suffering a terrible internal debate- _damn his morbid curiosity_ ; after taking a deep breath and counting to three, he then does what probably will be the most idiotic thing in his entire life- he actually follows Louis. 

His heartbeat is _so_ loud as he closes in on the car that he’s positive the teacher will catch him, but as he comes nearer, he hears the unmistakable sounds of eager lips smacking together- and then he realizes that just _maybe_ he won’t get caught. Niall sits up on his knees before knocking hurriedly on the trunk, frantically mumbling Louis’ name. Finally, after an agonizingly long ten seconds, the trunk pops open, revealing a frazzled looking Louis… who doesn’t look particularly happy to see him.

“Niall!” Louis whispers harshly, an annoyed glare shooting daggers into Niall’s stupidly curious eyes, and then suddenly he’s being grabbed by the front of his shirt and hauls him inside. The trunk closes with a soft click and they’re plunged into darkness.

Everything is quiet for a second or two, safe for Niall’s heavy, frantic breathing. He is, for the most part, laying on top of Louis, his neck caught in a rather painfully awkward position, “Louis?” he gasps in a panicked whisper, wondering what he’d been thinking when he followed his stupid friend into some stranger’s trunk. 

“What?” Louis grunts, still managing to sound annoyed even while straining under Niall’s weight.

Niall scrambles a bit, falling over to the side in order to allow the boy to breath before he turns, their faces scarily close, “What exactly are _we_ doing?” he asks with a coy smile, repeating what he had asked earlier when they were just hiding behind a tree rather than squished side by side into a tiny trunk.

Louis hushes him, somehow managing to sound scolding as he places his fingers brashly over Niall’s pouting lips, moving their face even closer together. Niall knows it’s not supposed to be sensual, but _damn_ his hormones for stealing the show, yet again. Louis’ breath is flowing over Niall’s face, their noses nearly touching, and Niall is thankful it’s dark, because his face can’t help put grow a bit warm under the closeness of Louis’ questioning gaze.

After a few torturous seconds of heavy breathing, Niall finally _grasps_ just how tight of a space they are squeezed into, and suddenly, the intimacy falls away and a whole new kind of panic settles into his bones. _forfuckssake_ he’s claustrophobic, what in the hell was he thinking jumping into this compact space _willingly_? 

Louis must sense Niall’s growing panic because his eyes immediately soften and he soothingly brushes his knuckles along Niall's warm cheek, obviously still too worried of being found out to utter any words of reassurance, but Niall releases a deep sigh of relief as Louis pulls his phone out and places it on the floor between their faces, the dim light casting shadows across both of their faces.

Niall finally attempts to quiet down as he tries to regulate breathing; he manages to find some kind of calm in Louis’ heartbeat as it thuds under the palm of his shaking hand. 

“Just breathe,” Louis mouths, still brushing his fingertips in calming strokes along his cheek as they wait in tense silence for something to happen.

 _Finally_ , something _does_ happen, and Niall begins to panic all over again when the car hums to life and they can feel it pulling away from the curb, probably making its way out of the parking lot; he can faintly hear the teacher calling goodbye to whomever he’s been obnoxiously snogging just moments ago.

Niall’s breathing quickly becomes labored and the tight space seems to close in around him, “Hey, hey, calm down, _breathe_ ,” Louis whispers, obviously feeling secure enough to speak with the hum of the engine to drown out his words.

His warm hand still hasn’t left Niall’s cheek as he calms him in repetitive, soothing strokes, “It’s going to be alright, okay? Just breathe and calm down,” he soothes and Niall closes his eyes and concentrates on the sound of his voice. Slowly, he finds himself biting back the panic which is clawing up his throat. 

“What are we doing?” he whispers, repeating himself for the third time tonight; his eyes are round and questioning in the dim light of Louis’ phone.

“I want to see Harry,” Louis says quietly, “and this is the _only_ way to get out.”

It’s official. Louis really is insane. He seriously has put his life in the hands of a stranger- and so has Niall since he’s stupid enough to follow Louis, apparently.

“But… we don’t even know where this car is going! For all we know it could be going out of town!” Niall hisses, his heart rate increasing rapidly again. Fuck, this car ride is going to kill him- all of this can’t be good for his poor heart.

“We’ll get off as soon he hits a red light,” Louis says simply, like he’s talking about how to solve a third-grade math problem. Niall feels like screaming.

“You are serious, aren’t you?” Niall asks, _just to be sure_ … because Louis is fucking mental. For all he knows, this could be an elaborate prank- although, Niall highly doubts that’s the case.

“Don’t worry, we’ll just pull the trunk release, like when I opened it to let your nosey ass inside,” Louis reminds him as he narrows his eyes, “Besides, _you_ are the one that followed _me_ so quit whining,” he reprimands, finally removing his hand from Niall’s cheek- obviously _quite done_ with his shit. 

It’s true though, Niall did follow him, after all, and Niall decides it’s the _last time_ he’s going to jump head first into a situation without using his brain. 

He doesn’t know how long the car drives, but it feels like hours upon hours, when it finally comes to a stop, “Now!” Louis exclaims, ramming his elbow into Niall’s ribs as he fumbles to reach the trunk release. He finds it and pulls and the trunk door springs open.

“Niall! _Fucking_ move!” Louis exclaims, and Niall scrambles to get out. He nearly faints when he sees the car is _of course_ in the middle of traffic and a bald man in the car behind them stares at them like they are aliens as they ungracefully topple out of the trunk. 

Niall is just standing in the middle of the street, the bald man still staring at him as Louis finally climbs out after him. He is jolted out of his frozen state as Louis pushes his shoulder, “Run!” he yells, taking off toward the crowded sidewalk.

Cars honk, people stare, and the women whose trunk they left hanging wide open is screaming at them, but they somehow make it to the sidewalk in one piece, disappearing into the crowd.

“Oh my God,” Niall pants, his chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath, “I can’t believe we just did that.”

“ _Wow_ , I never thought it would actually work,” Louis says with a wicked grin and Niall stares incredulously at him. He straightens up and looks around, they’re obviously somewhere in the city, but Niall doesn’t have a clue where. 

Louis squints at a street sign on the corner, clicking his tongue in disapproval, “We’re too far from the police station,” he groans and begins walking towards the bus stop a few feet away, “we’ll have to take the bus.”

And Niall’s shoulders sag as he follows after Louis, sighing loudly because _why the hell hadn’t he just gone to dinner?_

 

+

 

Niall is a nervous wreck as he follows Louis’ purposeful strides up the steps of the large police station in downtown Washington DC. They walk through the doors and into a small office filled with grumpy looking police officers. After they’ve barely stepped over the threshold a group of at least 5 people in horribly cliché trench coats and flashy cameras jump up from the chairs along the wall; one of them shoves a tape recorder in Louis’ face.

“What’s your name? Are you a Prescott student?” the man asks rudely, moving the tape recorder to follow Louis every time he tries turning his head.

Louis brushes away the tape recorder with an annoyed expression, attempting to shoulder past them when another speaks up, “Wait,” a female, says, “Isn’t that Louis Tomlinson?” she asks in quite an accusing tone. 

Niall’s eyes widen when the simple broadcast of Louis’ _name_ makes all their eyes gleam greedily, and that’s when they all begin falling over each other to get to them;

“Louis Tomlinson! How do you feel-, “a reporter begins, but before he can even finish the question, Louis and Niall are grabbed by their arms and more or less dragged away.

Detective Palmer looks at them with a resigned expression, placing them behind him so the journalists can’t get to them, “Listen, we’ve already given you the official report. You don’t get more from us, go dig up dirt somewhere else!” he barks and the journalists scurry away.

He turns to look at Niall and Louis with stern expressions, “What do you two think you’re doing here?” he asks in a tired voice.

“I’m here to see _him_ ,” Louis replies, not even bothering to state _who_ because Palmer knows damn well _who_ they want to see. Louis’ chin lifts in an anticipated act of defiance as if daring the detective to say no. 

Detective Palmer gives an exhausted sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose, “Listen kid, that’s not going to happen,” he says sternly and stares Louis down. 

Louis is about to say something - probably something snarky - but then they both turn when they hear a bit of ruckus happening at the end of the hall, and it’s like the heavens have opened up because they actually see _him_ \- he’s right there behind detective Palmer’s square shoulder.

Harry is in handcuffs and a lady with pointy features and hair in a tight bun has a tight hold around his arm. There are at least ten officers between them, but Louis instinctively steps toward him, as if inexplicably drawn to the pale boy with a permanent grimace and sunken, guarded eyes.

“Mr. Tomlinson,” detective Palmer warns, clamping a heavy hand down on Louis’ shoulder.

“Harry!” Louis shouts, stepping out from under the detective’s shadow, and Harry’s face snaps up at the sound of his voice. He looks extremely exhausted; skin pale and tight around his eyes, hair flat - God, what have they done to him? - but when he sees Louis for the first time, his whole face brightens and he smiles as if he _hasn’t_ just spent the last week being manhandled like a dangerous criminal.

“Louis!” he cries back, relief taking a physical form in the boy as his eyes brighten and the blood seems to flow back into his ghostly pale cheeks. A few officers stop what they’re doing, looking back and forth between Louis and Harry. 

“Are you alright?” Louis asks, seemingly ignoring the curious eyes that are watching their rather endearing exchange.

“I’m okay, I-“ Harry begins, but before he can continue, he’s rudely cut off, “Get him out!” Detective Palmer roars, making Niall wince, and a look of terror falls over Harry’s face as the lady and another officer begins to tug him away; Louis jumps forward but is stopped by a desk and his eyes cloud with frustration as Harry is _yet again_ , dragged away from him.

“No! Wait!” Harry begs, his voice cracking as he struggles against the lady and the officers, “Louis! Talk to Mrs. Rhode and Nick Grimshaw!! They saw me that night!” he insists, his face turning red in the effort it’s taking him to fight off the officers.

 _Mrs. Rhode, the headmistress secretary and who the fuck is Nick Grimshaw?_ Niall shakes his head, this endless web of lies and betrayal was literally so fucking exhausting.

“The swimming hall… get them to tell the truth!” Harry urges before he is roughly led away, and Niall feels something tear inside of him. He looks at Louis and his breath catches, because for the first time, Louis looks near miserable and _close to tears_ , with the echo of Harry’s plea ringing in their ears.

“Louis?” Niall automatically steps forward to comfort him, but then Louis shakes his head and when he looks back, his eyes are hard with determination, the former emotions _gone_ \- and Niall is unsure if he imagined the entire thing.

“Come on, let me drive you back to school,” Detective Palmer says with a sigh and touches Louis shoulder but Louis jerks away from him.

“We can find our own way, thank you very much,” he spits and storms away, Niall has to run to catch up with him. They don’t get far, because just as Louis throws open the front door of the station, he’s met with the blinding flashes of camera’s going off. It seems the small group from before has managed to morph into a rowdy little crowd, and they’re all throwing questions at them.

_“Louis Tomlinson, how do you feel about your best friend being accused of murderer!?”_

_“Do you believe it’s true!?”_

_“Is the school caught in terror!?”_

Niall’s head is spinning as more and more questions are being fired at them, but then his breath catches as the greedy little eyes of a reporter turn toward him, _“Niall Horan! Joshua Devine was your boyfriend, right? What do you have to say to one of your friends being accused of killing him?”_ he asks, his eyes eager and hungry for information, and Niall can already feel tears pricking his eyes with emotion as the questions continues in a relentless bombardment. 

_“What does Harry Styles have to say?!”_

_Were there any co-conspirators?_

Niall feels dizzy and blind from all the flashes going off, and he instinctively grabs for Louis who meets his hands, grabbing just as frantically for him as the onslaught of flashing bulbs and invasive questions continue.

Just then, Detective Palmer - along with a couple of other officers – joins the scene of chaos, standing protectively in front of them like a human shield. Despite how much the police officers piss him off, he couldn’t be more grateful to see them in that moment, Niall realizes.

“They will not be answering your questions! Leave now!” Detective Palmer bellows as they lead Louis and Niall through the crowd and directly into a waiting police car.

There are still questions being shot at them through the thick windows as the car pulls out and races down the street; Niall thinks he’s becoming much too familiar with the inside of a police car, and the thought is not at all comforting.

“You heard what he said,” Louis says accusingly, directing his anger toward Detective Palmer, “he has alibis!” he spits and Niall assumes their short-lived truce is now over.

“Look, we’ve already spoken with the people he mentioned,” Palmer answers wearily, eyeing them in the rearview mirror.

“And?” Louis prompts impatiently.

“I can’t disclose such details,” the detective snaps, easily matching Louis’ level of impatience.

“What!?” Louis gasps, sounding appalled by the detective’s unwillingness to share such relevant information, “I need to know, you have to tell-“ he starts, speaking feverishly as he pushes himself forward, his face nearly smashing against the metal net that separates the officers from the criminals of the back seat- or in this case, the overly emotional Privilege boys.

“We have our suspect,” he cuts Louis off sharply, “Now, don’t give us a reason to believe he has accomplices.”

Louis gapes at the detective incredulously, as does Niall, because, honestly, that’s rather uncalled for.

“Are you fucking kidding-“ Louis tries once more but is finally silenced by the impatient detective.

“Silence!” Palmer roars and for once, Louis clamps his lips together. He doesn’t say anything but the spiteful glares he shoots detective Palmer are words enough in themselves.

And Niall…well, Niall doesn’t know what to think anymore.

 

+

 

Mrs. Jensen more or less chews Niall and Louis out, gives them a half an hour lecture and maybe it would have been shorter if Louis could stop being sarcastic just for a second. She lets them go with two weeks of detention and a _final_ warning. 

When they get back to the dorm, both Zayn and Liam are waiting for them, worried frowns etched into their faces, “Where the hell have you been!?” Liam exclaims, and Niall can’t blame him- they’ve all turned into a paranoid bunch and if one of them is missing for more than ten minutes, they’ll automatically jump to the worst case scenarios.

“Nowhere,” Louis mumbles grumpily and when he storms toward the elevator without further explanation, Niall uses it as an excuse to go after him; he doesn’t feel in the mood to explain either. The silence that weighs on them feels heavy and uncomfortable, being as Niall is just itching to ask Louis what the hell they’re supposed to do _now_ , however, he remains silent and when Louis walks into his room, Niall follows right after him.

“Louis, what is this about Mrs. Rhode and Nick Grimshaw?” Niall asks as soon as the door closes behind them. Louis drops down on a chair and looks more exhausted than ever as he runs a frantic hand through his hair, “Caroline Flack and Nick Grimshaw,” Louis clarifies, and Niall brows furrow, “Huh?”

“She just _became_ Mrs. Rhode a few years ago,” Louis explains, “And Nick Grimshaw is an asshat who graduated a couple of years ago… they had an affair going on,” he reveals, rubbing his eyes roughly.

“What!? yuck!” Niall says, “Isn’t she like _forty_ or something?” he asks with a look of disgust.

Louis laughs dryly, “Nah, I think she’s in her mid-thirties, and she’s a first class cougar. She even tried to come on to Harry when he was a _freshman_ ,” he says with clear distaste.

Niall shudders lightly. Of course, a former teacher-student relationship is all this school’s now very fucked-up reputation needs. 

“So, she’s _still_ having an affair with this… Nick guy?” Niall inquires, and Louis just lets out an annoyed chuckle as his eyes narrow, “Apparently,” he says, “and _that_ would also be the only reason she wouldn’t want to reveal where she was the night of the murder, after all the affair would come at a drastic price. It could easily cost her her job as well as her marriage,” Louis states thoughtfully, leaning back in his desk chair and groaning at the ceiling.

“Oh,” Niall says, understanding dawning on him, “then we’ll have to just _make_ her tell the truth,” he says quite casually, considering the circumstances

“Yeah, that’s what I plan to do as soon as the sun rises tomorrow,” Louis promises in a rather terrifying whisper, but _of course_ Niall is just further intrigued by his determination.

“I’m going with you,” he declares, expecting Louis to protest, however feeling a wave of relief travel his tense shoulders as Louis’ nods in appreciation.

“What was Harry doing in the swimming hall though?” Niall ponders out loud as if it’s another piece to the puzzle, but Louis just shrugs his shoulders, indicating Harry went there on a regular basis.

“Harry sometimes has trouble sleeping,” Louis says softly, “he’s on the swim team, so he has the key to the swimming hall. Swimming usually relaxes him and helps him sleep- being as I was in New York at the time, he’d probably been tossing and turning all weekend,” he whispers, clear guilt in his voice.

“Oh.” Niall says, processing the information and he quickly chases away the mental image of Harry in a Speedo, _forfuckssake_ Niall, get a grip.

Louis flips his hair to the side, clearing his throat as he climbs to his feet; he strips down to his boxers and falls heavily onto his unmade bed. Niall stares at him, unsure if he wants him to stay or not. 

“What are you waiting for?” Louis’ muffled voice comes from under the comforter, “Get out of your clothes, turn off the light, and get the hell over here,” he demands, opening his arms to welcome him into the bed.

And so, Niall does just that.

 

+

 

The very next morning, Niall follows Louis into the front office where Mrs. Rhode is sitting, typing away at her computer. She looks up when they step inside and for a second something _dark_ falls over her features. Niall studies her, and he can definitely see why a teenage boy would be quite smitten with the beautiful woman; she looks much younger than her age with long wavy, brown hair falling over her shoulders, red lipstick painting her plump, inviting lips and mischievous green eyes hiding behind a pair of dark rimmed glasses. She definitely has the image of a sexy librarian- everything school boys fantasize about, Niall assumes. Well, _straight_ school boys, at least.

“The headmistress is out, if you want to schedule a meeting-“ her light voice starts up, repeating her over-rehearsed spiel, but Louis is having _none of it_.

“We’re actually here… to speak with _you_ , Mrs. Rhode,” Louis cuts her off and walks over, leaning over her desk and looking her dead in the eye. 

Mrs. Rhode doesn’t even flinch as she raises a nicely shaped eyebrow at Louis’ boldness, nothing but cool indifference in her expression, “If you want to sell those suspicious candy bars from the soccer team, then I am not interested,” she says dismissively, looking back down at where her polished fingernails continue tapping away at the keyboard.

Louis studies her in silence for a moment, “No, I am here to ask you what you were doing in the swimming hall on the evening of Josh Devine’s murder,” Louis says carefully, apparently deciding to take the direct approach.

Her fingers instantly stop tapping, her eyes growing wide behind the thick frames of her glasses and Niall’s rapidly beating heart stills in reassurance as all of the color drains from her face, _gotcha_ he thinks as her nervous eyes zero in on the two boys.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she mumbles, regaining her composure before pointedly refocusing on the computer screen in front of her. Niall’s heart is beating rapidly again at her blatant denial- or course getting her to confess wouldn’t be that easy, now would it? The unfaithful woman is lying right to their faces; doesn’t she understand just _how much_ is at stake here? An innocent boy’s life will be stolen while a murderer walks free if she doesn’t fess up.

“Oh, yeah?” Louis mutters, leaning closer, “are you _sure_ about that?” he questions, completely undeterred by her act of ignorance.

“Yes, I am,” she replies, “now, if you want a time with Headmistress Jensen then I can make you an appointment. If not, then I can’t help you, and I’m going to ask that you see yourselves out,” she insists, although refusing to meet their eyes as a pen shakes in her hand as she attempts to write something down on a post it note; it seems as though she’s unable to concentrate- with Louis breathing down her neck and all.

As predicted, she gives up on _pretending_ to busy herself with mundane secretary tasks and lets the pen slip from her fingers with a deep sigh, “I think I asked you to leave,” she whispers sharply, narrowing her eyes at Louis.

There goes a moment of tense silence with her glaring at Louis and Louis glaring right back, and honestly, Niall can barely breathe, the tension is so thick .

“Listen,” Louis says, voice dangerously low, “I _know_ you were there that night and I know _who_ you were with,” he states cryptically, crossing his arms over his chest as he lets the information sink in.

Mrs. Rhode’s eyes don’t leave Louis’ for a second as she leans in close, “Are you trying to blackmail me, young man?” she demands, and Niall feels a little sick when Louis’ mouth quirks up in a knowing smirk.

“Oh, you have _no idea_ what blackmail is before you’ve seen what I can do,” he assures, his eyes narrowing with impatience.

“I will report you to the Headmistress if you don’t leave _now_ ,” she threatens, her sweet voice growing acidic and eyes morphing into narrowed slits at the fear of being exposed.

“And _I_ will ruin your whole life faster than you can fuck _Nick Grimshaw_ in the swimming hall locker room if you don’t tell the police the truth,” Louis sneers, “Harry is not going to remain in jail under false evidence just so you can keep your _filthy_ little secret.”

Mrs. Rhode looks as shocked as Niall feels; it just doesn’t feel right what Louis is doing, _blackmailing_ her and talking to her so rudely. Niall knows it’s all to help prove Harry’s innocence, but still… in some twisted way, he can see where she’s coming from. Who in the hell would want to throw away their entire life just to benefit someone they don’t even know? Although the threat of an innocent person being thrown in prison _for life_ on false charges would be enough to make any decent soul spill the truth, Niall can tell this woman is _far_ from decent- and this _isn’t_ the way to make her talk.

Seemingly satisfied with making her speechless, Louis turns on his heel and walks out, Niall trailing closely behind. Niall catches up to him outside where the snow has begun falling softly; he tugs on his arm, abruptly pulling them to a stop, “Louis,” Niall whispers, urgency in is voice as he pulls him aside.

“What?” the clearly annoyed boy seethes, refusing to look Niall in the eye.

“You can’t do this…” Niall trails off, “ it doesn’t _feel_ right,” he insists, flinching back as Louis’ head snaps up, an indignant glare bleeding from his ice-cold eyes.

“No. It’s not right what _she’s_ doing,” Louis snaps.

“I know,” Niall agrees, his shoulders tensing even as the peaceful snow flurries spiral around them, “but I don’t think she’ll talk by means of blackmail-“ he says, trying to make Louis see reason.

However, he’s quickly cut off by an _always_ impatient Louis, “Oh, she will-“ he grumbles, but falls silent as Niall finally grows a backbone and his tone raises in intensity, “Louis, listen, let’s try another way, yeah? What about Grimshaw? Let’s try him before you do anything else, alright?” he proposes, his voice teetering between pleading and dominant.

“Niall-“ he tries again in exasperation, but Niall merely rolls his eyes, “Just… please listen to me… I don’t want you to ruin her life if there’s another way. That may be _fun_ for you, but the thought makes me fucking sick,” Niall admits, accusation unknowingly rolling off of his tongue as Louis stares back at him in reluctance.

After a few moments of awkwardly glaring while trying to bat the snowflakes off of their eyelashes, Louis relents, “Fine!” he groans like a petulant child and they continue walking away from the administration building, “But we won’t get him to come by just flat out _asking_ …” Louis states, his words settling uneasily around them.

“What do we do then?” Niall asks, trying to keep up with Louis’ long strides.

“We’ll have to get him to think _she_ wants to see him. The idiot drools at her feet, he’ll be here by tonight,” Louis says. 

“Right… but how do we do _that_?” Niall wonders, taking care to sidestep a particularly nasty patch of ice.

Louis looks him dead in the eye, “By breaking into her computer and sending an email from her account,” he says quite simply, his lips twitching into a crooked grin.

Well… Fuck.

 

+

 

Breaking into Hull Hall later that night proves to be a little _too_ easy, and Niall suspects Louis has done it before as he leads them down the hall with practiced ease – _after they’d broken through a basement window, of course._

Apparently, the stupid yet ironically convenient policy of _no locks on the doors_ also applied to the ones in Hull Hall because the door to Mrs. Rhode’s office swung wide open with no more than a weak nudge from Louis’ elbow. 

“How are we going to get into her computer?” Niall whispers - because last he tried to crack a password, it took him days – and _time_ wasn’t really a convenience they could afford at the moment. Louis merely hushes him as he quietly walks behind the desk and moves the mouse, rousing the device to life.

The bright screen causes Niall to momentarily close his eyes before he can refocus on the words on the screen which are silently demanding a password; Niall watches speechlessly as Louis’ fingers fly over the keyboard and before effortlessly pressing _enter_. 

Niall’s mouth falls open in astonishment as they’re greeted with the desktop welcome screen, while Louis merely offers a smug smile, “There’s a universal code,” Louis answers with a shrug, not taking his eyes off of the screen. Niall bites down his lip, feeling a bit irked by the revelation- why hadn’t he known that? His life would have been so much easier.

Louis must detect Niall’s sour mood change, because he releases a sigh, meeting Niall’s narrowed eyes for a second, “Come on, if you knew this code, then there wouldn’t have been any fun at all,” Louis says with a teasing smile as he opens Mrs. Rhodes email and begins typing a message.

After a few seconds of quick typing, Louis finally stops and looks over a Niall, “How does it sound?” he asks, turning the screen slightly to face him.

There is a single sentence;

**We need to talk. Meet me at the art cemetery tomorrow night. Please, it’s important.**

It’s quite straightforward and Niall hopes this Nick guy doesn’t suspect anything, and he’s a little surprised by the choice of location, but he figures it’s because the Art Cemetery is farther away from the rest of the buildings and discretion is rather important in this _ambush_.

“Looks good,” he mumbles, nodding his head in consent as Louis quickly clicks the send button. 

“One question,” Niall wonders a few moments later, “how is he going to get through all the heightened security?”

Louis rolls his eyes and smirks as if it’s the most unreasonable question Niall’s ever asked, “He’s Nick Grimshaw,” he states with a grimace, “trust me, he’ll find a way.”

 

+

 

The next night, neither of them can sit still as they wait impatiently , there nerves eating them _alive_ ; they’re waiting at the Art Cemetery and they keep passing each other as they pace back and forth. They’ve been there for nearly an hour and for every minute that rolls by, the doubt increases.

“He’s not coming,” Niall states hopelessly, “What the hell are we supposed to do now?” he asks, panic beginning to consume him as he paces relentlessly back and forth.

Louis has stopped pacing and is staring at the painting of _Niall_ hanging on the wall that Zayn had painted a few weeks back; Niall tries not to blush as he watches Louis admire it for a few seconds before finally turning to face him, “He’s coming,” he assures, “I know, he’s coming.”

“How can you be so sure?” Niall asks, feeling like he might suffer a mental breakdown any moment due to the sheer anxiety of the situation.

“I just _am_ ,” Louis answers curtly.

Just then, the door busts open and in stumbles a tall, rather gangly guy with jet black hair and eager eyes. All three of them just freeze and stare at one another in bafflement as Niall takes a moment to examine the older man in front of them; Nick is tall and thin with hair that looks like he’s just got out of bed but somehow, it works for him, and Niall feels like an evil little fucker when he sees the clear disappointment in Nick’s eyes before they turn steely.

Without speaking a word, he turns on his heel, heading right back toward the front door. 

“Wait!” Louis shouts so loudly that Niall is sure the whole campus hears it but _it works_ and Nick stops up, reluctance in his gaze as he looks hesitantly over his shoulder. 

Louis grabs the chance, bringing himself between Nick and the door in hopes of blocking his only means of escape, “What’s wrong, Grimshaw? Not happy to see me?” Louis taunts, and Nick’s icy glare plummets from chilly to downright _freezing_.

“What do you want, Tomlinson,” he sneers.

“Relax, bro… I just want to talk,” Louis says and leans casually against the door crossing his arms over his chest.

“Regarding what?” Nick hisses, with a hesitant shift of his eyes to Niall before landing back on Louis.

“We _know_ you were that night, and we also know _who_ you were with,” Louis states, “don’t even bother denying it… all I’m asking is that you tell the police you saw Harry that night,” Louis asks in a deceiving tone; it seems like he’s being polite, but Niall’s 1000% sure that his _plea_ to Nick Grimshaw is nothing short of a direct order.

“And what makes you think I’ll do that?” Nick replies coldly, his eyes casting over Niall once again, giving Niall the courage to speak up for the first time, “He can’t stay arrested,” he says firmly, “please, just tell the police that Harry is innocent- that you saw him swimming that night.”

“Who the fuck are _you_?” Nick demands, looking down at him with disdainful eyes that make Niall cower away, “and what makes you think I care about Harry?”

“Oh, I’m aware you could give less than a _fuck_ about Harry… but, I’m sure you’re rather fond of that slutty secretary,” Louis quips, and Nick snaps his eyes back so quickly to glare at Louis, Niall fears he may burst a blood vessel.

“Her _name_ is Caroline,” he corrects, spitting the words from his lips like fire, “and if I tell the police where I was, then she’ll lose her job, her husband will divorce her _and_ Prescott will find themselves knee-deep in another scandal. If you ask me, that’s three good reasons to shut up about it and look the other way,” he states, no emotion present on his face aside from forced indifference.

“Wake up, you fucking moron,” Louis says darkly and takes a step closer to Nick, jabbing his finger into his chest, “Harry’s career is going up in flames, the press is having a field day tearing his image _apart_ ; he’s in danger of being sentenced to life in _fucking_ prison and all you can worry about is whether her husband will divorce her because she’s unfaithful? She deserves everything she’ll get; Harrydoesn’t,” Louis insists, his voice wavering dangerously under the strain of keeping his anger at bay.

“Fuck this, I’m outta here,” Nick hisses through clenched teeth and makes to push past Louis, but Louis grabs him around his arm.

“You don’t want to do that,” he warns, his blue eyes blazing black in the dim light as his expression becomes overrun with emotion.

“Go fuck yourself, Tomlinson,” Nick spits with venom and then he shoves Louis against the door jam, storming out into the cold.

Niall deflates completely as Nick slams the door shut and he turns with big, worried eyes to face a fuming Louis, “Oh my God,” he groans, “What the hell are we supposed to do now?” he questions, his heart hammering against his ribs as he watches Louis’ calculating eyes light up with a new plan. 

“Now, we do it _my_ way,” he whispers harshly before storming off as well, leaving Niall alone in the darkening room.

Well, at least he _tried_ to not ruin this woman’s life, Niall thinks, shaking his head before scurrying after him.

 

+

 

The next morning the campus is covered by a beautiful powdering of snow; snowflakes swirl in the air before floating down to decorate the pathways, benches, and streets. Everything is bathed in a white glow and looks like something right out of the Prescott Academy catalogue- if only Niall’s mind was filled with the faux peacefulness that the snow-kissed campus portrays.

But _nope_ , all he can think about is what Louis is planning to do to get the poor secretary to talk, and he’s quite scared that he may end up doing more harm than good. Niall is walking, lost in his own thoughts when he notices Mrs. Rhode’s small form hurrying down the path towards Hull Hall. Before even taking a second to consider the consequences, Niall cuts across the yard, going straight for her.

“Mrs. Rhodes! Wait up!” he attempts to call out, hoping to keep their encounter quite causal.

She tenses, ignoring his calls and picks up her pace, but Niall is faster and he catches up to her before she reaches the door, “What do you want?” she asks sounding quite annoyed with his persistence- if only she could see he was trying to _help her_ before Louis caught up to her.

“I…” Niall trails off, because really, _what_ does he want?

“… I just don’t want Louis to hurt you,” he says, choosing to take the honest approach, because it’s true. She’s just scared and so is Nick. None of them deserve to get their lives ruined. She gives him a disbelieving stare and Niall looks back, “I mean it. Louis won’t hesitate to do anything to screw you over,” he insists, “I’ve tried to keep him from it, but he won’t listen. I wish you’d just go to the police.”

She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t walk away either. That should count for something, right?

“I know it’s not fair to ask you to put your own life and career in jeopardy,” Niall continues, hoping that the fact that she has yet to storm away means that she’s really letting his words sink in this time, “… but Harry might… he could possibly get life in prison all because you _won’t_ confirm his alibi,” Niall rambles on, catching himself before he becomes too emotional as his mind focuses on Harry’s bleak future if he can’t get him out of this mess.

“Please, I know you want to do the right thing,” he whispers, trying to use his _‘stupidly adorable doe eyes’_ \- as Zayn likes to call them - to gain Mrs. Rhode’s sympathy, “At least… at least give it a second thought?” Niall suggests, holding her gaze for a moment longer before finally looking away.

She doesn’t say anything, and Niall waits a few seconds before slowly backing away.

Well, at least he tried- and now there’s nothing to do but sit back and pray Mrs. Rhode takes his words to heart.

 

+

 

That same evening, they’re all called together for an urgent gathering with Headmistress Jensen. Niall hasn’t seen Louis for half the day, all he’s sure of is Louis showed up to dinner, but aside from that, he hasn’t a clue what the tricky little bastard has been up to the rest of the day. 

There are confused murmurs as the students begin filling the large room; Niall slides easily into a pew next to Jordan. The headmistress looks more exhausted and grim than ever, and it makes Niall’s chest feel heavy- he’s terrified she has bad news. For all he knows, something could have happened to Harry. Maybe he got shanked. The thought makes Niall clench his fists so tightly that his blunt fingernails leave little crescent outlines in the palms of his hands.

Just then, the doors swing open and everyone turns around at the same time. Niall feels breathless with relief when none other than _Harry_ strides in, accompanied by two adults. Niall immediately recognizes that the polished looking couple is his parents; they both look professional in their suits and protective as they flank Harry on either side.

As Harry walks down the aisle, he holds his head high and the small family sits at the very front, Harry’s mother taking his hand in hers and squeezing. They have barely taken a seat before the room explodes with excited murmurs, everyone just buzzing as they realize _Harry Styles_ is back within their midst. Niall turns around to look at his friends with a huge grin on his face only to realize they have near identical expressions; Louis’ face is lit up by a genuine smile for the first time since Harry was arrested.

“Quit down, please,” Mrs. Jensen requests and the chatter immediately dies down to a dull murmur, everyone still dying to know what’s going on, “It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce that Harry Styles has officially been proved innocent in any connection to Josh Devine’s murder,” she declares with the hint of a smile on her _always_ serious face as the room resounds with a roar, each and every student jumping to their feet as they clap and holler in excitement. 

Niall feels the relief bubbling through him and even Jordan grins, hugging him close.

Niall doesn’t know how it happened: maybe Mrs. Rhode actually listened to him and went to the police, or maybe it really was all Louis’ malicious doing, either way, _he doesn’t care_. Harry is free and everything is fucking right in the world once again.

Thank God.

“Quiet down!” Mrs. Jensen shouts and the uproar subdues only slightly, “I’m sure we can all agree that this is very good news. However, I’m afraid I must remind you that this means someone dangerous is still at large, and they obviously hold malicious intent toward the students of Prescott…” the Headmistress says firmly and Niall’s smile falters, a bitter coldness reigniting through his bones, “We need to stay together now more than ever. Each and every one of you has an obligation to look out for one another. I ask of you to be extra careful, and let me know if you spot anything suspicious. You are dismissed.”

And, well. At least Niall was flying high on happiness for a few seconds before the lovely reminder that a murderer is still out to get them.

Crap.

 

+

 

Later that evening, Liam, Louis, Harry, Zayn and Niall are all gathered in Harry and Louis’ room, as if they can’t let Harry out of their sight ever again. At least, that’s how Niall feels. They are currently sharing a delightful mix of wine and whiskey, sure it’s a school night, but hell, being released from police custody because of a dropped murder charge is means for celebration, right?

Liam, Zayn and Niall are on the floor, while Louis and Harry are tangled up together on Louis’ bed; they haven’t stopped touching each other for a second- and Niall can’t help but find _that_ a bit endearing.

“Guys, I hate to be a downer, but this means someone framed Harry,” Liam slurs, casting the room in silence as everyone ponders the gravity of the situation.

“Oh, I’ll find out _who_ ” Louis mutters, playing with Harry’s curls and pressing tiny kisses against the boy’s temple, “they won’t get away with it,” he promises, his eyes never leaving Harry’s. 

Harry tilts his face to the side and kisses Louis chastely on the lips, before pulling away, gazing deeply into Louis’ eyes, and Niall feels like he’s intruding by just watching their mushy show of affection. After a few moments, the chaste kisses and soft touches quickly escalate and before they even know what’s happening, Harry and Louis are rolling around on the bed, tearing their clothes off while desperately moaning into each other’s mouths.

“ _Seriously_!?” Zayn exclaims as he, Liam and Niall quickly climb to their feet, unwilling to witness where this is _clearly_ headed and they all make a mad dash for the door, escaping into the calmness of the dimly lit hallway. 

As soon as they’re out the door, Zayn slings an arm around Niall’s waist and pulls him closer, “Hey,” he breathes into his ear, “You wanna go somewhere?” he asks anxiously as he playfully nibbles at Niall’s earlobe.

Niall summons every _ounce_ of willpower and instead of going pliant in Zayn’s arms, he pulls away, “Zayn,” he mumbles and forces himself to look Zayn in the eye, “We can’t keep doing this. _We have to stop_.”

“Why,” Zayn asks with wide, confused eyes and tries to reach for him, but Niall shies away.

“Because it’s wrong,” Niall admits, “You’re with Perrie and we can’t keep _doing this_ while we both care about her. Zayn, it isn’t right and the guilt is _killing_ me,” he says softly, biting on his lower lip to stop it from trembling at the sheer hurt reflecting in Zayn’s eyes.

“Just give me some time, yeah?” Zayn blurts, “I’ll break it off...”

“I’ll wait for you… but until then, we _can’t_ do anything,” Niall states firmly, “and you should probably come clean to her as well.”

“Niall-“

“Goodnight, Zayn,” he says dismissively before his cold demeanor melts and with that, Niall turns around and goes back to his own room, to spend the night alone. 

For the past few nights, he’s been falling asleep with Louis, and he can’t help but miss the warmth as he settles under his ice cold blankets.

 _Damn Zayn_ for _still_ having a girlfriend.

 _Damn Louis_ for spoiling him with all of those late night cuddles while Harry was locked up.

 _Damn Harry_ for reclaiming his cuddle buddy.

But most of all, _damn Conrad_ for snoring so fucking loud.

Niall wallows in self-pity for a few moments longer and shivers under the cold sheets with nothing but the sound of his roommate’s excessive snores to keep him company.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
In the time that Harry had been arrested, the fundraiser had more or less been thrown on the backburner, however, it eventually catches up with them- resulting in a very intense, very _exhausting_ week that passes in a whirlwind of phone calls from florists, caterers, drivers and alumni. 

There is a slight miscommunication regarding the payment of the live models that had been hired for the event; luckily though, they manage to fix the problem in time- promising the models that the amount of networking they’ll have at their fingertips is enough payment all in itself. Somehow within all the madness, Niall still manages to write a paper for French and ace a History test. Apparently, he is excellent at multitasking.

By the time Saturday morning rolls around and everyone is finishing up packing their luggage and cases as they wait for the limousines to pull up, Niall is feeling pretty damn good about himself and the preparations for the fundraiser. 

Before they attempt to divvy themselves into the waiting cars, Niall gathers everyone into the foyer, climbing to the third step of the staircase before shouting for everyone's attention. They fall silent instantly; more than a dozen pairs of interested eyes look up at him, seemingly riveted in whatever nonsense Niall has to say - this feeling of _authority_ is something he’s never experienced before - and Niall wonders if this is the kind of power Louis experiences _every day_.

"I just wanted to thank everyone for all of your hard work these past couple of weeks," Niall announces, gripping the banister tightly in his fingertips. The group below him nods their heads in acknowledgement of his appreciation as he lifts his blue folder, containing the guest list and spreadsheets, breaking down received as well as pledged donations, "and although my father always says, _'Never count a chicken before it's hatched,'_ I think it's safe to say that with the money we've already made, and all of the money we stand to receive from the auctions tonight, we will more than reach our goal," he reveals with a satisfied smile.

Everyone cheers and hugs, congratulating each other and Niall grins proudly from his perch - he’s positively beaming – staring down at the students of Privilege, down at his _friends_. He feels like he’s flying… like he’d really _done it_ \- he saved what these kids held dear, their _home_.

Niall catches eyes with Louis, who gives him a proud smile and with a smirk, he winks at him. Niall then searches for Zayn and his heart possiblyskips a beat at the pure adoring look in Zayn’s eyes; Niall can’t help but look away with blushing cheeks. The only smiling face missing from the group of privileged kids is Harry, who had an important press interview to clear his name once and for all. Niall’s smile falters a bit, because Harry’s lacking presence can surely be felt, but immediately shakes his head, reminding himself Harry promised to meet them at the fundraiser.

Everyone rushes ahead into the cold as Niall pauses to close the doors behind them. The three chauffeurs are just gathering up the last of their things and Niall is about to thank them when he sees something flutter from the corner of his eye. His heart jumps as his gaze snaps in the direction, but there’s nothing. He could have sworn he saw something or _someone_ , but maybe it’s just his growing paranoia. Honestly, who could blame him after everything that has happened?

He begins walking towards the cars and that’s when some movement out of the corner of his eye catches his attention once again - and he realizes that he’s not just going crazy, or being paranoid. His eyes narrow as he sees _Stacy_ speed walking away, hurriedly marching across the crosswalk to get to the other side of the street. Niall feels his heart stop at the sight of her… what the hell had she been doing over here?

Niall keeps his eyes keenly on her figure as she nearly mows over a group of freshmen girls who had paused to chat along one of the pathways before someone shouting his name causes him to lose his focus and he loses her in the crowd.

"See you tonight, Niall!!” Jordan shouts to him from where he’s standing with a group of friends, waving and giving him a big grin.

Niall takes a deep breath and tells himself to get it together. Right now, he’s got to get through the night and declare Privilege House’s victory before worrying about whatever nonsense Stacy might be plotting.

He forces a smile and nods in Jordan’s direction, “See you there!” he shouts back and jogs across the quad to catch up with his friends, where the circle of limos are idling near the curb.

Everyone randomly piles into the cars, intent on getting out of the cold; as Niall settles in and looks around, he finds that he has ended up with most of the seniors: Louis, Liam, Amanda, Danielle, Jeremy, and Jessica. Amanda reaches into a vat of ice built into the door and extracts a bottle of champagne. "Let's get this celebration started!" she cries in excitement, before popping the cork.

Everyone cheers as foam washes over the side of the bottle onto the floor. The girls squeal and pulls their feet back, out of the line of fire. As the car pulls away from the curb, Danielle passes around champagne flutes while Amanda clumsily pours. 

"I’d like to propose a toast!" Louis suddenly declares, lifting his glass once everyone has been served, "To Niall!" he says firmly, locking their eyes together as Niall feels more heat consume his cheeks.

"To Niall!" everyone choruses, lifting their glasses in celebration, but Louis quickly speaks over the excited murmurs, "No, ladies and gentlemen. I wasn't finished," he admonishes with a sly look. Everyone pauses in a moment dramatic enough to be in a blockbuster movie before the limo hits the speed bump near the bottom of the hill, causing champagne to slosh everywhere and they all fall into comfortable laughter.

Louis clears his throat, waiting for the attention of the students before he continues, "Not only has this boy _saved_ Privilege house, but he’s also proven his worth as a loyal and trustworthy friend- not to mention, he’s so painfully modest. I mean, _look at him_! He doesn’t even realize that half of the campus is drooling at his feet, don’t you agree?” Louis asks the group with a playful smile, and Niall laughs, feeling his face burn and nearly sizzle off as their friends shout in eager agreement.

Louis chuckles as he waves his arms to gain the attention of the group once more, _since everyone had taken an interest in checking Niall out_ , “All I’m trying to say is… I don’t regret letting him in for a second; regardless of his past or where he came from, Niall _is_ and always will be _one of us_ … ” Louis says, looking Niall in the eye, his smile soaked with warmth and gratitude. Honestly, Niall’s heart is about to burst.

“He’s much more than a friend, he’s my brother,” Louis admits softly, sounding uncharacteristically vulnerable for just a moment before clearing his throat and smiling brightly once more. And, that just _did it_ … Niall feels his heart bursting and bleeding into his chest as he attempts to fight a raw ache clenching the back of this throat. He is _definitely_ not about to start crying. Nope. 

"So… _to Niall_ ," Louis repeats quietly, his lips twitching into a soft smile as Niall nods his head in unspoken thanks. He’s not sure what just happened, but he feels a shift in their friendship, like he somehow managed to chip away that last remaining _wall_ to Louis. He takes a deep breath to calm himself down, but the way Louis keeps looking at him just makes him want to burst into tears and cuddle into his _big brother_ until the second coming of Christ.

"To Niall!" everyone shouts once more, and Niall’s private moment with Louis is broken as they both look away, laughing.

It is, without a doubt, one of the best moments of his life.

And, if he happened to wipe a stray tear from his eye, claiming that his _damn allergies_ seemed to be flaring up, well, no one said a thing to dispute it.

 

+

 

Niall isn’t going to lie; he absolutely loves that he’s casually sipping champagne in a classy salon on Park Avenue with a sign on the door that reads _Closed for Private Event_. He loves that people keep stopping on the street and peeking in, trying to get a glimpse of what fabulousness might be occurring within. He _also_ loves the way it feels to be on the inside looking out, rather than the outside looking in, _for once._

It’s one of those moments when he realizes how unequivocally lucky he is. How the hell did he, _Niall Horan from Crystalmont, Pennsylvania,_ end up _here_ , talking to a respected U.S. Senator about which eye shadow she should go with - as if he has a freaking clue - while Frederica Falk, famous and well-renowned makeup artist and stylist, lines the lips of a famous morning news anchor, and twin fashion heiresses swap costume nightmares with his friends over in the corner? _Unreal._

"So… this is going well," Louis says happily as he places something into Niall’s hand - he has just gotten his hair done professionally and with a light touch of makeup, he looks absolutely breathtaking; Niall can’t help but stare for a second or two. The spell is broken as Louis clears his throat, causing Niall to look down at whatever he’s just given him and his blue eyes widen; it’s a check, and the amount is enough to buy all of the old houses on Niall’s measly block. 

Niall swallows thickly as he stares down at the obnoxious amount of zeroes, "I'll say," he whispers in agreement.

Louis smirks, "That's nothing, check out the wad that Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb forked over to Jessica so they could have a closed set during their shoot with Tassos,” he scoffs, nodding subtly toward the twin heiresses as they spoke animatedly with Amanda and Jessica. Apparently, according the Louis, Tassos is a world-wide known photographer known for everything ranging from photographing Britney Spear’s dog to taking family portraits for the President; he _also_ happens to be Jessica’s father.

Louis skillfully hunches over, blocking off the view from onlookers so that only Niall can see as he pulls out a stack of bills so thick, it could be used as a paperweight. Niall gapes because - _whoever carries that amount of cash with them is just asking the cosmos to be mugged_ \- before he laughs and takes a swig of his champagne, "I hate to be vulgar, but Mrs. Jensen is going to shit bricks while Stacy throws them at us," he whispers, earning a muffled snort from Louis as he attempts to regain composure.

"Vulgarity aside… I would pay to see that,” Louis mumbles with a sly smile, tucking the money away again.

"Absolutely," Niall agrees and then they both smile, enjoying the warmth of the moment. This is _going_ to work out. Everything is going perfectly, and Niall is grateful that he met Louis. Louis changed his life completely, not to mention he’s one of the best friends Niall’s ever had; really, Niall has never had a real best friend before coming to Prescott.

"There! _Perfektion_!" Frederica proclaims as she finishes with the anchorwoman. All afternoon this has been her signal that she is done with a client, and the entire room falls silent at the sound of her pinched, heavily accented voice. Frederica is a petite German woman with platinum blond hair and tiny horn-rimmed glasses; even though she’s no taller than five feet, her presence is all commanding - much like Louis’ – so, when she speaks, people listen.

"And now, for the organizer of our event…" Frederica trails off before marching over to Niall - all bones, black turtleneck and slicked-back hair - and grabbing his shoulders, "I must perfect you!"

"What? Me? No, no, no…" Niall adamantly protests, "This event is for our donors… it’s not nec-" he attempts to reason with the eager little lady, but is abruptly silenced as she cuts him off, easily ignoring his objections.

" _Unsinn_! None of us would be here had it not been for you, darling!" she insists, forcibly turning him around so that he’s facing his own reflection in the mirror, " _Um Gottes willen, ich muss etwas über diesen Haaren machen,_ “ she mumbles, her German herritage blatantly revealing itself under obvious times of stress, or in other words, when forced to tackle Niall’s apparently atrocious hair. Niall looks up to Louis for help, but Louis has already turned his attention elsewhere; chatting with a former Prescott Alumni.

Suddenly, Perrie, who is looking polished and perfect as ever, places her hand on Frederica’s shoulder and says something back to her in German. Niall admires her with wide, wonderous eyes as the words flow so easily from her pretty, painted lips, " _Frederica, erinnern Sie in Amerika sind ... schlechte Niall hat nicht die geringste Ahnung, was du los reden über_ ,” she says in a playful tone, and really, the only thing he understood was her use of the word America, and well… his name.

Frederica sticks out her tongue causing Perrie to release a pleasant giggle before plopping into the seat next to a very confused looking Niall, “Sorry, I was just reminding her that she’s no longer in Germany; I told her you didn’t have a clue what she was going on about,” Perrie says with a roll of her eyes.

“What was it she said?” Niall whispers, not wanting to interrupt Frederica as she continues to tousle and grip at his hair as if trying to come up with a solution to the terrible mess upon his head.

“ _I must do something about this hair!_ ” Perrie replies, pretending to run her hands through Niall’s hair before Frederica slaps her hands away.

She uses her fancy, pointed fingernails to comb through Niall’s hair, mumbling more things under her breath, before finally speaking up in what seems to be a question aimed at Niall, “Wer auf der Erde ist Ihr aktueller Stylist, lieber Junge?”

He turns to Perrie, but she’s already a step ahead of him, “Who on earth is your current stylist, _dear boy_?” she translates with a mocking hand placed over her heart. Frederica shakes her head in disapproval as if whoever Niall’s stylist happens to be ought to be publically flogged for their incompetence. 

Frederica frowns as she touches and prods at the darkening roots before Niall swallows, “Uh… me,” he says with a small blush. 

“Ha ha… good one, darling,” she laughs but Niall just stares at the stylist’s reflection in the mirror while Perrie quietly excuses herself, and suddenly Frederica’s eyes widen slightly, “ _Oh, mein Schatz_ … I’ll work my magic and you’ll look like a diamond, _Liebling_ ,” she apologizes softly, as if he’s had such a tortured life since he’s only ever dyed his own hair.

If _only_ that were the only reason for Niall’s tortured past, he thinks, before relenting and allowing Frederica to _work her magic._

 

+

 

As the boys of Privilege house make their way through the entry way of Louis’ home, Niall can’t help but pause to admire his new hair in every reflective surface. When Frederica said she was going to work her magic, she certainly meant it. Now, Niall’s hair looks like it’s been spun from the purest of gold and he can’t believe how shiny and soft the fancy shampoo and deep conditioner has left his golden locks; honestly, his old hair dye looked horrendous and tacky in comparison and _dear Lord_ he’s never felt more like a conceited little girl than right now- but at least he’s a _pretty_ , little conceited girl, right?

“Go on, fix yourselves up,” Louis instructs when they reach his room as he sets on some music. Everyone goes on about unpacking their things and pulling out their flashy designer tuxedos and brand new shoes. They don’t have much time until the fundraiser so they dress quickly and in the middle of boyish laughter and chatter, Niall catches Zayn’s eyes. He’s been looking at him all day with this almost pained expression, like it is killing him that he can only look and not touch. Niall looks away and tries not to think about what they did the _last_ time they were in this very room _together_.

Louis had treated Niall to some new cologne, much like he’d treated him to everything else he’s wearing, really. He had chosen one called _‘Free’_ because well, that’s the only way to describe how he’s feeling right now. Hell, if he’d found a cologne called _‘Poor Scholarship Boy Thankful to Actually Be Accepted by Privileged Rich Kids,’_ well, he would have bought it.

Niall digs it out of his bag, spritzing it generously onto his pulse point before eagerly bringing his wrist up to smell it. The untouchable happy bubble in which Niall has been floating around in all day simply bursts as the _toxic_ scent fills his nose and he immediately gags.

_Josh_. It smells of Josh. It’s Josh’s scent… _his_ cologne. Niall would know that smell anywhere and now, unfortunately, the scent is _burning_ in his nose, in his eyes, in his _lungs_ and he feels like he’s suffocating as all memories of Josh collapse on top of him. 

With panicked tears in his eyes, he glances at the bottle and he feels baffled when he sees that it isn’t even his new bottle. It looks like Josh’s, and not just the general cologne, no, it looks specifically like the bottle Josh used to own, being as it was only a quarter full and the first letter of name on the bottle is scratched off because Josh was bored one day while they were sitting in his room and Niall was doing homework.

“Niall?” He hears Liam say worriedly close to him, “Are you alright?”

Suddenly, he’s dropping the little bottle of cologne on the floor and backing away like it’s a grenade about to blow any second, “No, no,no,” Niall chants, the tears streaming down his face as he checks if the bag in his hand is actually his, which of course _it is._

 

“T-this…I didn’t pack it…it’s Josh…and oh my God,” Niall brings a hand to his mouth and completely breaks down; everyone stops what they’re doing and he can feel the weight of their confused, curious stares. 

“I-I smell like him… I can’t…Ican’t, God, I can’t…” he chokes on his own words as he begins to tear off the fancy clothes he is wearing until he’s left quivering like a leaf in only his boxers- _but the scent remains._ It feels like invisible hands strangling him, cutting off his air supply.

“Niall… come here,” Zayn is there the next second, wrapping his arms around Niall’s half-naked body and pulling him against his chest, “Calm down, baby, it’s alright, it’s going to be alright… just _breathe_ ,” he whispers into Niall’s ear as he soothingly strokes his fingers up and down Niall’s naked back. Niall gasps, leaning closer into Zayn’s as he tries to chase Josh’s scent away by inhaling Zayn’s; but it lingers, _burning_ in his nose, and he justcan’t. 

“Oh my God, _Josh_ , Josh, Josh,” Niall cries, chanting the fallen boy’s name like a pitiful mantra, completely losing _it_ ; he buries his face into the crook of Zayn’s neck while Zayn exchanges panicked looks with Liam and the others.

“What the _hell_ is happening out here?” Louis asks as he emerges from where he’d disappeared into his closet, looking around and surveying the situation. He follows everyone’s eyes to where they’re all staring helplessly at a trembling and sobbing Niall like he’s an escaped lunatic.

Louis immediately drops the belt he’d been holding and heads toward the shaking boy, “Niall, what’s wrong?” he asks in a soft voice as he comes to stand beside the blonde boy.

“I-I I don’t know… someone put J-Josh’s cologne in my bag,” he chokes out between tears and shakily points an accusing finger at the bottle of cologne, still lying on the floor. Louis frowns and walks over and bends over to inspect the evidence for a moment before grabbing the nearly empty bottle and - without a second thought - tosses it into the nearest trashcan. 

“ _There_ it’s gone. Come on, calm down, love” Louis coos, looking him in the eye, but Niall can’t, he feels like this cruel world is closing in on him, and _he just misses Josh so goddamn much_. 

“C’mere,” Louis whispers, grabbing Niall by the arm and tugging him out of a reluctant Zayn’s arms, “Let’s find you something else to wear,” he says leading him into his closet, closing the door behind them; Niall is thankful because he swears he can still feel the curious eyes of his dorm mates burning into his exposed flesh.

The tears are still streaming down his cheeks as Louis sits him down on a suede bench between racks of clothes; Niall braces his hands on the bench at his sides and squirms, gasping for air. He’s ashamed of how strongly he reacted, but he couldn’t help it- still _can’t_ help the heartbreaking sensation sweeping through his veins; it’s like a flood of emotion that had just been waiting to be unleashed. _Who_ had put the cologne in his bag? _Where_ had they gotten it from? And, for the love of God, why did they do it?

“Niall, you have to breathe," Louis whispers, kneeling in front of him, "you're freaking me out here. Please breathe." Niall gulps for air, but his breath keeps hitching painfully and he can’t get the oxygen to settle in his lungs.

"Put your head between your legs," Louis urges, forcing his head down and Niall sees spots, but he nearly gasps in relief because, sure enough, the next breath hits home. His lungs burn as he greedily sucks in breath after breath of air, causing him to break into a fit of coughs; tears of pain now coursing down his face, dropping onto the thick white carpet at his feet, "That's it… _breathe_ … let it out," Louis tells him in a soothing voice, "Breathe."

After a few moments of soothing, reassuring words and gentle back rubbing, Niall finally gets the courage to look up, only to be met with Louis’ worried blue eyes, “Better?” he asks and Niall gives a shaky nod. 

He suddenly remembers seeing someone at the dorms, and he shivers. Their bags had been stacked outside for at least fifteen minutes. Anyone had access to his things- could have replaced his cologne with Josh’s just to mess with him, and they surely did a good job.

“Niall, what happened?” Louis finally asks, brows furrowing.

"I don't know. I don't... I don't know how _that_ cologne got in my bag, but the second I sprayed it, I guess it just all came rushing back," Niall answers in a dull whisper, wiping away a stray tear, "Josh always wore that cologne…a-and, all the terrible things of the past few months just came back like an electric shock- finding out he died, how awful that day was…I-I…” Niall trails off and bites down on his lip to hold back another sob. 

Without any hesitation, Louis sits down next to him, wrapping his arms around Niall in a warm hug. Niall gasps a little and leans into him, soaking in his warmth and comfort. They stay like that for a moment, before Louis pushes away and studies Niall closely, grabbing a tissue and wiping at his damp cheeks.

“You going to be alright?” Louis asks, pausing for a moment with the tissue still pressing against Niall’s cheek.

“Yeah,” Niall says, brushing Louis’ hand away and clearing his throat as he straightens up a bit up, “I have to be. I have a fundraiser to run.”

Louis smiles proudly, patting Niall’s cheek, “That’s my little Blondie,” he says with a tint of tease, caressing his damp cheek, wiping any remaining tears away, “Just grab any of my tuxes you want. I’ll go and tell them you’re okay while you clean yourself up.”

Niall nods and Louis walks out, closing the closet door gently behind him.

Niall gets to his feet and is thankful yet reluctant to find a mirror hanging over the chest of drawers in the corner; he stares at his reflection and isn’t surprised to find he looks like complete shit, well save for his hair- _thank God for Frederica Falk_. His face is red and blotchy with puffy eyes and tearstains littering his cheeks. How is he going to do this? How could he possibly pull this night off while feeling like he’d been run over by a bulldozer? 

He stares at himself for a few silent moments before inhaling a deep breath and nodding at his reflection, “You have to do this, Niall. For them. For Privilege house," he mumbles to himself, even as his heartbeat pounds in his ears.

"You can start freaking out later.”

 

+

 

 _Loft Blanc_ is the perfect location for this event: it’s simple and clean, yet glamorous. With the champagne flowing, continuous chatter filling the room, and the brigade circulating in skimpy clothes with their placid expressions, it reminds Niall of a decadent work of moving art.

Niall gazes around the room- this extravagant room that _he_ created, but all he can do is sigh because, of course he _sees_ all of this. He sees it, he processes it, but, he just _can’t_ appreciate it. All he can think about is the cologne that _still_ burns his nose and lingers on his wrist even though he’s washed his hands an unthinkable about of times. And _Josh.Josh.Josh_.

"Niall! Congratulations! This event is a smash hit!" Susan Llewelyn, the Privilege house alumni who’d aided them the night of the Legacy - and pretty much the only alumni he ‘knew’ - says, stopping by to double air-kiss him.

“Thanks,” Niall says dully, offering her a soft smile; she smiles back before walking away to chat with someone else- probably someone a lot more interesting than him, Niall thinks, because he just can’t seem to get rid of this stale mood that seems to follow him around like an actual rain cloud over his head as if he’s some dreary cartoon character.

“Niall!” Liam appears next to him, with a tiny lady by his side, “My mother is dying to meet you.” he says with a huge smile; as Niall takes a second look, he definitely notices that she has the same big, puppy-eyes as Liam and looks even more harmless, if that’s even possible?

"Mrs. Payne," Niall says charmingly before lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it.

“Oh, Niall, I’ve heard so many great things! I’m so pleased to finally meet you,” Mrs. Payne says and kisses him on both cheeks, “You’re such a handsome young man,” she says, looking him over, and Niall can’t help but laugh a little, “Thank You, Mrs. Payne, you look lovely as well,” Niall replies with a soft blush on his cheeks from her previous compliment.

“Oh, just call me Karen, sweetheart,” she insists, patting him gently on the arm. She then unsnaps her vintage clutch purse and extracts a small envelope, which she discreetly hands to him, "For the cause," she whispers, holding it out between them.

"Thank you," Niall replies, subtly taking the envelope and shoving it into his pocket. He actually isn’t supposed to accept the money, since Mrs. Payne is a parent but he’s not about to just turn the nice lady down.

"Good luck tonight, not that you'll need it," she assures with a warm smile. Niall is about to thank her again but then Karen’s eyes grow wide as she focuses on someone over his shoulder, "Oh! Is that Harris and Clara Devine? Please excuse me dear, I must say hello!" she apologizes before quickly stepping around Niall and hurrying on her way. 

Meanwhile, the mention of the familiar last name causes Niall’s heart to stop. He whips around and there, just a few feet away, are Josh’s parents. One look at their faces, their sad eyes, the mournful lines permanently etched around them, and the room starts to spin.

“Niall,” Liam says, placing a supporting hand against his back, “It’s alright.”

_But no, it’s really not. It will never be alright._

“Yeah,” Niall forces through a dry throat. Josh’s parents are here. His devastated parents. Niall can only imagine what it must be like for them, standing in a room full of their son's friends, knowing that by all rights he should be here too, chatting, laughing and living like the rest of them. 

"I have to get out of here," Niall hears himself says, "I need some air." 

But it’s too late, Niall has barely taken three steps away from Liam when Josh’s parents find him with their eyes; Niall freezes in his tracks as Mrs. Devine’s face brightens a little and she whispers something to her husband. Mr. Devine eyes him warily and Niall wishes he could shrink into nothing when they start towards him

“Liam-“ Niall begs, for what, he isn’t sure- to _hide_ him maybe?

“It’s fine, Niall, just relax, they only want to say hi,” Liam reassures him quietly, and Niall swallows thickly as he tries to get a grip.

"Niall, darling! This is just marvelous!” Mrs. Devine says enthusiastically and kisses him on the cheeks. 

“Congratulations on a job well done!” she adds as her husband steps forward to give him a firm handshake, “Nice to finally meet you, Niall,” Mr. Devine says in a deep voice, his eyes soft yet piercing as he studies Niall’s face, “Nice to meet you too,” Niall replies, _somehow_ summoning a smile. They chat a little more with him, before also pressing an envelope with cash into his hand and walking away to socialize with the other guests.

“Alright?” Liam asks him, and Niall nods, “I’m alright,” he answers in a tight voice as he attempts to reason with his own heartbeat, begging it to slow down.

Niall takes a deep breath and decides to check in on Zayn and see how his art auction is turning out. It’s being held in the far corner of a room; all of Zayn’s paintings are lined up along the wall and Niall is pleasantly surprised at the large group of people who are openly discussing and admiring his work, as well as placing bids. He notices the portrait of _him_ isn’t among the paintings, which makes Niall grin as a bit of flattery engulfs his heart at the thought of Zayn wanting to keep it for himself.

Zayn is looking ridiculously good as always, currently in the middle of trying to diffuse a dispute between a woman and a man who apparently both want the same painting and from what Niall can hear, the offers they are throwing about are downright ridiculous. Zayn sees Niall approaching and excuses himself, stepping around the bickering pair to stand in front of him with a warm smile.

“Hey,” he greets, taking Niall’s hand and pulling him quickly behind an ice sculpture - Niall briefly wonders whose idea the sculptures were as Zayn pulls him in close, his tawny eyes focused intently on Niall, “How’s it been going tonight?” Niall asks, and Zayn looks positively happy as he answers with a nervous smirk, “Better than expected,” he says honestly, “Never actually thought people would outbid each other to try and get their hands on something _I_ painted.”

“Don’t sound so surprised, Zayn… your work is amazing,” Niall praises, and Zayn beams at the compliment before a shadow of determination passes over his eyes and then he suddenly grows very serious.

“Niall… I- I’ve decided I’m going to break it off with Perrie tonight,” Zayn says, squeezing Niall’s hand, “ _for good_ ” he adds on and Niall’s heart all but stops before fluttering metaphorically right out of his chest as Zayn continues, “I want to be with you,” he insists with a shy smile, “ _Only you_ … and it’s killing me that I’m not able to call you _mine_.”

“Zayn… I-I,” Niall stutters, his heart expanding in nervous excitement, “I want to be with you too,” he finally chokes out as Zayn leans down and gives him a chaste peck on the lips, a simple touch that makes him tingle all the way down to his toes 

“Soon,” he promises, squeezing Niall’s hand once more. The moment is broken when they suddenly hear someone calling for Zayn to break up another bidding dispute, “Gotta go,” he sighs and with a wink that makes Niall blush the Prince abandons their hiding spot, returning to his auction. Niall is giddy with happiness, the former emotions that had been weighing on him all night had completely disappeared as he walks back to the event and spots Louis chatting amicably with some Alumni. When Louis notices him hovering nearby, he excuses himself and comes over with a sly grin.

“Ah, there’s the man of the hour,” he says as he grabs a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, holding it out to an impressed Niall. He grins back , taking a delicate sip before his eyes catch sight of Stacy who happens to be wandering near the left of the stage. 

Louis follows his startled line of sight and scoffs when he zeroes in on the source of Niall’s sudden discomfort, “Seriously? The fuck is she doing here?” Louis asks as his nose wrinkles in distaste.

Before either of them can think more of it, a tiny platinum blonde steps forward, stealing the attention of the murmuring crowd, “Ladies and Gentlemen, if I can have your attention, please?" Perrie asks, into the microphone, _looking lovely as ever_ on their small, makeshift stage. 

Niall feels a twinge of guilt as he gazes up at the beautiful girl; Zayn is going to break up with _her_ for… him, and he still can’t wrap his mind around it. She doesn’t even know as she smiles happily down at the crowd, and Niall dearly hopes that she won’t be too devastated by it- it’s the last thing Niall wants – considering they’ve become such great friends lately. And as he continues to watch her, looking undeniably beautiful in a white gown, he can’t help but keep torturing himself, wondering _why_ Zayn would _ever_ want to leave her for someone like him, a _nobody_ from bumblefuck Pennsylvania, with nothing but a scholarship to his name.

People begin to settle down as Perrie continues speaking with an amount of poise and confidence that Niall can only dream of, "My name is Perrie Edwards, and I'd just like to start off by thanking each and every one of you for coming out tonight; for donating not only your money, but also your _time_ to our school. Hopefully the party will suffice just a smidge of our gratitude,” she jokes with a pretty laugh and the spellbound crowd chuckles along with her as they raise their glasses in acknowledgement.

Perrie clears her throat before she continues, “And now I'd like to bring up the person who is responsible for this fabulous event!" her petite yet boisterous voice booms through the speakers, "Ladies and gentlemen, Niall Horan!" she announces with a wide smile, looking down to give Niall a look that screams _‘get your ass up here!’_

Niall can feel the annoying burn in his cheeks as everyone applauds and begins turning to look toward him with admiration, “Go on, Blondie,” Louis urges and gently nudges him forward, “This is _your moment_ , get your ass up there and _take_ it,” he says with a final nudge and Niall takes a deep breath, shaking his head as he makes his way up the steps, a bright smile stretching across his lips.

Hell yes! This _is_ his moment, he thinks, giving himself a little pep talk as he climbs the short staircase - but, he’s quickly blindsided and nearly shoved off the stairs as none other than Stacy Stone strides past him and onto the stage, like she’s on one hell of a mission- and Niall’s pretty sure that mission is to ruin his fucking life.

Perrie’s eyes widen as Stacy walks right up to her, and she doesn’t even have time to react before Stacy wrenches the microphone out of her grasp, "Hello, everyone!,” she exclaims mockingly with a villainous smile as she turns to the audience, “Let me just take a second to introduce myself, my name is Stacy Stone, and I'm here to inform you all of why you're _really_ here," she spits vehemently into the microphone, her eyes glaring over at Niall then drifting to Louis before recomposing her face into one of faux-innocence. 

Niall freezes and gapes at her as she addresses the rapt crowd, "Contrary to what these crooks would like you to believe, this is _not_ a fundraiser for our beloved Prescott Academy," she quickly explains, her tone soaked in superiority, "It's actually a rather clever little PR stunt for Privilege House. You remember Privilege House, right? That tall dorm on the edge of campus where the most cruel and awful students of Prescott flock together?"

The crowd is still in a stunned silence, but a few chuckles break through the ice as her passionate rant continues, "You know those boys and girls who always seemed to weasel their way out of absolutely anything? Those students who wielded their power and money over the school as if _they_ were running the place themselves?" she clarifies with an annoyed chuckle of her own.

The rest of the Privilege house students, who are dotted all throughout the room, begin to mobilize. Perrie, who until now has been standing aside looking baffled, attempts reaching for the microphone, but Stacy dodges her and slides easily out of her grasp.

"Well, guess what? This year they were finally caught. They were _finally_ going to be brought to justice,” she rants through clenched teeth as she paces back and forth, “But, of course, shocker of all shockers, they wrangled a deal with the gullible administration. If they manage to raise five million dollars tonight, their precious dormitory will not be dissolved- as it should have been _long ago_ ,” Stacy hisses, matter-of-factly. The crowd is no longer laughing, they are well aware that this is not in some kind of script.

“See, they're using people again to get what they want. More specifically, they're using _you_ and your hard-earned time and money to save their own skins. Is that what you want? Haven't they done enough damage already?” she ask harshly, pausing for a moment to catch her breath as she looks disdainfully at the crowd that is gawking back at her abrasive attitude and brash accusations.

Niall’s heart is in my toes. He looks around wildly to find his friends, but he is unable to focus on any one face. All he can see is a lot of nodding disapproving expressions from people who are actually beginning to agree with the nonsense Stacy is spewing. All he can hear are the _knowing_ whispers that begin filling the stale silence. Her words are hitting home. This is working. Her evil plan is working… and Niall doesn’t have a fuck clue of what to do about it.

"Niall! Do something!" Perrie whispers frantically, having come over to where he’s frozen, "You have to get up here and stop her," she exclaims in a hushed whisper. Niall nods in agreement at Perrie’s encouragement, however, he’s _still_ frozen. His throat is dry as sandpaper while his brain muddles around within his skull, lost in a complete fog.

"I-I can't. I don’t know what to do," he finally mumbles, feeling pathetic. He can feel the judgmental glares burn hot into his neck. Stacy is winning, and Niall doesn’t know how to stop her.

“Don’t fall victim to their scam. You’ll be funding not just a group of terrible students, but a group of terrible _people_ and allowing them to continue on with their reign of terror," Stacy continues, turning away from Niall as if he’s no threat at all, "For years, the students from Privilege house have been making our lives a living hell, but we can end this now. Don't give them your money. Don't support this hypocrisy!" she states firmly, her harsh features morphing into a look of pride, obviously feeling pleased with herself for getting the philanthropists to rethink their donations.

“Oh my God, _please_ , Niall, she’s ruining everything,” Perrie begs, grabbing at his arm and with a surprising show of strength, she pulls him onto the stage. He stumbles toward the center, mere inches away from Stacy who smirks widely at his ungraceful entrance.

"Oh, look, it's Niall Horan, the one responsible for this event," she announces while managing to sneer down at him at the same time, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm dying to hear what he has to say in his defense,” Stacy says confidently, knowing that nothing that comes out of _his_ mouth will have much of an impact.

Niall can literally feel hundreds of pairs of eyes as they shift in unison to gaze warily at him; as always, he is frozen in terror as he feels the pressure building on his shoulders, "Well, come on, Niall! What are you waiting for?" Stacy digs her long nails into his wrist and drags him forward. She shoves the microphone into his hand and steps back, giving him the floor. A cold sweat breaks out all over Niall’s body. He stares out at the crowd, his eyes scanning the faces, catching eyes with a few of his worried dorm mates; he finally finds Zayn’s worried eyes as they stare back at him, quickly getting lost in the crowd as Niall squeezes his eyes closed, a migraine eating at the edge of his exhausted mind.

His throat is burning; he doesn’t know why he can’t open his mouth, but he just can’t. All he can do is stand there, frozen, like one of those beautifully crafted ice sculptures in the art gallery.

Suddenly everything becomes just too much and he feels dizzy and confused. What is he even doing here? Why are all these people looking to him? He doesn’t belong here. He is a _nobody_. He’s a loser from Pennsylvania, and no one should be looking to him to fix something as monumental as this.

"I'm sorry," he blurts out of nowhere, "I'm sorry, I-" And then a strong hand, _his saving grace_ , comes down on his shoulder. He senses it’s Louis before he even sees him, and Niall can’t help but sigh in relief as Louis reaches around him, slipping the microphone out of his shaking fingers, and steps to the front of the stage, "Thank you, Stacy, for the unplanned entertainment," he begins with a smile, coaxing out a few laughs from the crowd. Niall steps back, more than happy to let Louis handle this one. 

"For those of you who don't know me, I'm Louis Tomlinson; I’m a senior at Prescott Academy and currently reside at Privilege House. I just want to go on the record as saying that almost everything Stacy has just told you... _is true_ ,” he reveals, with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

There are a few gasps and some stunned silence. No one was expecting that, not even Niall as he turns to stare at Louis with wide, confused eyes. 

"Our living arrangements _were_ put in jeopardy due to some unfortunate incidents earlier this year, true, and it is also true that we asked the administration for a second chance," Louis clarifies, and Niall slowly lets out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding, _of course_ Louis would have an argument up his sleeve. 

"They agreed that the best way for us to prove our loyalty to Prescott would be to throw a fundraiser for the school and so, here we are. Just to clear things up, you should know that any money you donate this evening will be going _directly_ to the Prescott Academy board of trustees, to be used at their discretion. Privilege house will have no further involvement with the funds," Louis continues, throwing a glance at Stacy who looks angry enough to spit, but rather than obnoxiously cutting him off like Niall thought she would, she remains silent, as if waiting for her next opening- not that Louis is about to give her one, "Now, as for the accusations about the behavior of the Privilege house residents, all I can say is, Stacy is right," Louis continues, once again generating a few gasps from the crowd, but continuing on with confidence as his voice raises above the murmurs, "We have, in the past, used our power and position on campus to get the things we wanted, but all that has changed this year. We are trying our hardest to change, to become better people, _all of us_.”

All of their friends have rallied together and are gathered at the front of the stage; Louis looks down at them proudly, like a mother hen looking down at her freshly hatched chicks, "We deserve a chance to make Privilege house what it should be," Louis insists, licking his lips as he raises his arms to gesture around him, drawing attention to the hard work they had put into the fundraiser, “We _are_ the new Privilege house, and the new Privilege is about strength… about doing what's right and putting forth the best image we can for Prescott," he assures, switching the mic into his other hand as he gestures toward the crowd, "That's where your hard earned money is going tonight- to building a _better_ Privilege house, a better Prescott, and a better future,” he says firmly, pausing to look around the room and driving his message home to each and every member of his audience, "Are you really going to let one misguided party crasher get in the way of all that?" he asks, lifting a belittling hand toward Stacy.

The laughter and applause fills the room this time, and they just _know_. They all know that Louis has won; as _always_. He hands the microphone to Perrie, who quickly squirrels it away. Stacy simply stands there, arms crossed in an indignant pose, until she finally shakes her head and makes her retreat. The cheers are still echoing in Niall’s head when Louis turns to him. There is no way to express the force of gratitude that is surging through his body.

"Louis, thank you so much," Niall gushes breathlessly as Louis smiles wryly, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and leading him down the stage, “What happened to you?” he asks, and Niall shrugs weakly, “I don’t know- I just… my mind went blank,” Niall sighs, shaking his head. Louis ruffles his hair playfully.

“Hey. It’s all good now,” he assures and just as Niall feels his shoulders beginning to relax, both of their phones beep. Niall doesn’t bother taking his out, since Louis is so quick to do so, and he watches intently as Louis opens a new message, “Oh…” Louis mutters, as his eyes grow wide and Niall’s heart drops. 

“What is it?” he asks curiously as he glances around, noticing a large number of people on their phones. 

“…You don’t want to know,” Louis murmurs softly but Niall looks over his shoulder nonetheless, and he feels his world come to a screeching halt. On the tiny screen is a video of him. _Him and Zayn:_ Kissing. Touching. Falling onto the bed. Zayn’s hand pulling off his shirt. Niall groping for his waistband. Niall instantly recognizes it as being the night of his birthday; he feels his stomach do a terrible flip as bile rises up his throat.

“Oh my god,” he whispers, bringing a hand to his mouth as he watches this video, unable to tear his eyes away from the train wreck as is flicks across Louis’ screen.

“You fucking liar!” A familiar voice screams, and Niall’s gaze snaps up. _It’s Perrie_. She’s crying and screaming at Zayn who’s standing still as stone, his skin pale and eyes wide. That’s when Niall realizes that not just a few people, but _everyone_ has their phones out. _Everyone_ has seen the video. He stumbles on his feet and Louis catches him around the waist, steadying him. 

Perrie slaps Zayn sharply across the face, eliciting a communal gasp from the crowd, before storming away, but of _fucking_ course, she catches sight of Niall; he shrinks when she charges directly toward him with fire in her eyes.

“I would never have thought you could do something like this, Niall! You’ve humiliated me!” She screams, her eyes red-rimmed and brimming with tears, “P-Perrie, please, I’m so sor-“ he tries but he’s hastily cut off when Perrie slaps him too, so hard that his neck jerks painfully to the side; he can immediately feel the burn of her handprint as his cheek blooms into an angry red, “I thought we were friends,” she whispers, her lips trembling before she ducks her head and runs away from the gawking crowd.

Everyone is staring at him with a mix of shock and disgust, and he wishes the floor would just open up and swallow him whole.

“Louis,” he whispers and looks over, his own eyes growing blurry with tears. Louis is busy staring at something on his screen with a closed off expression; Niall feels faint when he sees that _once again_ , everyone is staring at their phones, pointing and murmuring. 

_What now!?_

Niall feels his panic rising and when Louis finally looks up at him, he almost flinches away from the cold, icy glare. Niall feels like his whole world turns upside down. 

“W-what?” he whispers, heart in his throat, praying that Louis’ cold glare isn’t intentionally directed at him.

Without a word, Louis turns the screen so he can see, and Niall can no longer feel his legs as his body begins trembling, panic consuming him entirely this time as he gazes shamefully at the screen.

Now, it’s him and Harry- on the night of the Legacy: on the bed, kissing, touching, and shedding their clothes. Niall gasps as this video has _sound_ , and the sound of their moaning fills the small room at an appalling rate. Niall tastes vomit in his mouth; his gaze snaps toward Zayn and his heart stops beating at the expression on his face. It’s one of pure hurt and betrayal. He desperately wants to run over and explain, but right now, Louis is more important.

“Louis, I-I,” he begins but _of course_ Louis doesn’t allow him to speak.

“Shut the fuck up,” he hisses, voice quiet but filled with venom, Niall clasps his lips together as a few traitor tears sneak down his red cheeks, “I can’t believe I thought we were friends- that I called you my _brother_ ,” Louis sneers, looking Niall up and down like he’s dog shit under his expensive shoes, “I knew you were too good, to be true.”

“Louis, please-“

“No,” Louis spits and steps up close to Niall, getting right in his face; Niall gazes into his chilly eyes, completely terrified, “Louis, I’m s- sorry, please understand,” Niall chokes out. 

Louis scoffs at Niall’s apology crossing his arms over his chest before glaring back at the shaking boy, “Oh, trust me, _Blondie_ ,” he says mockingly with none of the affection that usually comes with the nickname, “you’re going to be very, _very_ sorry,” Louis snickers, and Niall shudders as the sinister promise paralyzes him with fear. 

“All you are, is a lying, back-stabbing _slut_ ,” Louis says through clenched teeth and he may as well have driven a knife through Niall’s heart, “Harry is _mine_. Everyone knows that,” he states, stepping as close to him as possible, clearly not wanting the audience he’d won over to hear what he had to say next, “I was wrong about you. _You’re out._ Out of Privilege house. Out of Prescott Academy. You never fit in here, so you better pack your shit and go back to whatever shit-hole town you slithered out of. Believe me, you don’t want to stick around and see what I can do to you,” he sneers, his hand on Niall’s wrist growing bruising as he tightens his harsh grip in warning.

And just like that, _everything_ Niall worked so hard for is gone in less than five minutes. His life is ruined just like that, because now everyone will look at him and see nothing but a two-faced slut who sleeps with his friend’s boyfriends behind their back.

He should write a book. 

**How to go from the most admired person of the evening to the most despised in less than five minutes, by Niall Horan.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Niall feels a dread like smoldering black embers right in the pit of his stomach. He knows the sensation well. Used to feel it every day after school as he approached his house in Crystalmont, Pennsylvania, not knowing what might be going on inside. Never knowing in what condition he might find his mother. Passed out with a bottle of pills spilled on the floor? Manically cleaning the kitchen in her pajamas? Angrily waiting to scold him for something he hadn't done? Yes, he knows dread all too well. 

It is Sunday afternoon after the thanksgiving holidays. Exactly a week and a day since the disastrous fundraiser. Not only had he lost all his friends and all the respect after someone leaked two videos of him getting a 'little' too close to Zayn and Harry who both are in relationship, he also came to the scary realization that someone is really out to get him, and know that he no longer is in Louis’ good graces, one could say he is a pretty easy target.

“You okay there, Ni?” Greg asks him as they pull through the gates of Prescott academy. His older brother turns to look at him with concerned grey-blue eyes and Niall swallows, managing a small shaky smile.

“Good,” he replies. He knows that Greg knows he's lying, but the thing that Niall has always loved about Greg is that he never pushes Niall to talk.

Niall hadn’t wanted to go home after Louis had literally thrown him out of the fundraiser, and since Greg conveniently enough lived just in the outskirts of New York, he’d went to him instead and spent thanksgiving with Greg and his college friends; who are all a nice bunch, who went out of their way to make Niall feel welcome - like one of _them_ rather than their buddy's little brother. Greg has been thoughtful enough not to ask Niall anything, and Niall is forever grateful. Originally, Niall had been invited by half the dorm to spend thanksgiving with them, Harry had offered him to fly with him to LA where he’d be spending thanksgiving with his celebrity friends, Liam had offered Niall to come and spent thanksgiving with his family in Seattle while Zayn had insisted he came with him all the way to Dubai but Niall had chosen to spend it with Louis in New York, but given the events that went down, he was sure Louis’ offer didn’t stand.

Greg’s car pulls into the parking lot and Niall’s heartbeat is already escalating. He struggles out of the car with his backpack, duffel bag, and laptop. It is frigid outside, and a cold wind whips through the trees along the drive. Niall had expected the campus to feel more alive since all the students are supposed to be returning from break, but it's nearly empty except a couple of girls chatting in front of the girls' freshmen dorm. 

“You should visit more often,” Greg says as he climbs off the car, walking around to Niall to say goodbye. Niall manages a small smile, thinking that he is probably going to need a break from school a lot more know. “Yeah.” He nods. He says his goodbyes to Greg and watches as he gets back into the car and drives away. Niall feels cold. Cold and alone. He slowly makes his way through campus and when he walks around the fountain, he looks up at the largest dorm on campus, Privilege House, looming in the distance. Instantly, the embers of dread burns brighter. 

He hasn’t seen any of them since the fundraiser - Louis, Liam and Zayn - and he hadn’t seen Harry at the fundraiser at all. Niall wonders if Harry came after Louis threw Niall out and how awkward it most have been for him. Niall can just imagine him walking through the doors - all pretty curls and charming smile - ready to join the party only for the whole place to fall silent and everyone turning to stare at him. Niall wonders if Harry and Louis are still together; he hopes. He would die if he is the reason for their breakup. 

Halfway across the snow-covered quad, lit only by the quaint, ground-level lamps lining the pathways, Niall stops and takes a deep breath to steel himself. He is going to march into Privilege House and he is going to make Louis listen to him. He doesn’t care if he has to scream the whole apology to him through his closed dorm-room door. He is going to hear his side.

His life at Prescott depends on it.

 

+

 

Niall is literally quivering, nervous and scared and dreadful as he stands before the doors into Privilege house. The faces of that night flash through his mind; Louis chilly eyes, Liam’s shocked expression and Zayn’s betrayed one. He swallows and closes his eyes. He has to do this. He can’t return to Crystalmont, Pennsylvania, he can't return to his old life, not after all the effort of getting away.

Niallslides his keycard through the slot and steps into the foyer and gets that eerie, sickening feeling that he has just caused an abrupt silence. Slowly, he turns toward the parlor. From his vantage point he can see a few of his dorm-mates crowded onto the gold brocade love seat. Jessica glances over at him and quickly slouches down, drawing her hand up to her cheek as if to hide her face.

Dead silence. Aside from the cozy crackling of the fire, there is nothing. His mouth is dryer than a sandbox.

_Move, Niall. Move._

He drops his bags on the floor and forces himself to walk toward the parlor, stripping off his coat, scarf, and gloves as he goes, since his inner thermometer is now registering about four thousand degrees. With each inch he can see a bit more of the room, and by the time he reaches the door, his suspicions are confirmed.

Every last of his dorm-mates are gathered around the parlor. They are all there; _Harry_ , with his fluffy curly hair and orange pullover, he's curled in the loveseat next to Liam; Liam who looks his preppy self, sporting a new, shorter haircut; they're both doing everything in their might to avoid looking remotely in Niall's direction. Niall slowly lets his eyes continue, falling on Zayn; he's sitting in a straightback chair in front of the flat-screen - he's wearing a red, wool sweater, he always looks so _good_ in red - and he's also avoiding to look Niall's way and staring stiffly forward; Niall swallows around the growing lump in his throat. Niall forces himself to look away from the Prince, his eyes falling on Perrie; she looks pretty with new grey-blonde hair, pulled away from her face in a high ponytail. She's surrounded in what appears to be a protective manner by a group of the other girls; predictably, none of them meet Niall's eyes either.

Niall feels like he has swallowed a mouthful of dry earth when his dreadful gaze finally lands on _Louis_ \- he's perched on the wingback chair near the fireplace, of course, at the head of the room. His feathery auburn-hair is damp and falling over his icy-blue eyes, he is wearing a black turtleneck and beige chinos. His ankles are crossed, his lips twists into a semblance of a smile as he looks Niall dead in the eye - the only person able to do so.

"What's going on?” Niall's voice sounds annoyingly loud in the apocalyptic silence; the sound of his voice makes a few girls and boys squirm. Niall swallows heavily, struggling to keep eye-contact with Louis' cold eyes. Though when he feels Zayn looking at him, he can't help but avert his eyes - desperate to see some kind eyes - but Zayn quickly looks down; Niall ignores the painful clinch of his heart and turns his eyes back on Louis. 

Louis who's smirks at him, "Perfect timing, Niall," his elbows casually perched on the chair's armrests as he coolly looks him over. Louis lifts both hands, palms up, and his eyes sparkles merrily. "We just voted you out."

The earth tilts beneath his feet. Louis can’t have said what Niall thought he heard. Not so cavalierly. Sure enough, he’d said something like that at the fundraiser, but Niall had believed it was a shock-induced reaction. He must be joking. But no one is laughing like it is a joke. No one even moves. Niall grips the back of the love seat, his sweaty fingers pulling on Jessica’s curly hair.

"Ow!" Jessica protests loudly, sitting forward to free herself.

"What do you mean, you voted me out?" Niall's voice is no better than a choked whisper. Suddenly everything in the room is distorted. The faces, the furniture, the flames leaping in the fireplace. It isn't real. This can't be real.

"You have an hour to pack your things," Louis says in a light tone, like he’s asking Niall if he can borrow a pen and not completely destroying Niall's life. Louis stands up to his full length, he looks almost bored as he flicks his bangs out of his eyes with a quick motions, eyes turning back on Niall in cold amusement. "There's a single waiting for you in Drake House."

Niall’s mind reels, making him feel dizzy, unsteady; _Drake House_? Is that one of the boys’ dormitory? Grappling to stay focused, Niall looks around at his so-called _friends_. His eyes falls on Harry first; Harry who'd come onto him at that Godforsaken Legacy, Harry who'd been all over him ever since, using every damn oppurtunity to grope him, Harry who'd gotten him into this mess and a memory hits Niall - Harry kissing him wetly on the lips, buried deep inside of Niall, whispering filthily _"M gonna fucking ruin you_ \- Niall nearly snorts out a cynical chuckle, well, he surely did keep his promise, didn't he? That little fucker, Niall glares holes into the back of Harry's temple until Harry squirms but he doesn't look up, hiding his face behind his curls. It's one thing that Niall is obviously getting all the shit for what they did when they both know what happened and how it went down, but it's another thing that _Harry_ is letting this happen; the hurt stings painfully and Niall more hurt than bitterly looks away, his blue eyes landing on Liam next.

To Liam's credit, the boy does have the guts to meet Niall's eyes with wide, guilt-ridden puppy eyes; the eye-contact is brief, before Liam shoots his gaze down to his fingers that are twisting together in his lap. Zayn is now pointedly staring out of the window where it has begun to snow, refusing to meet Niall's eyes. Niall shrinks a little when he catches eyes with Perrie, her blue eyes are cold and unforgiving and she stares right into Niall's eyes with a look that clearly translates as _"you deserve everything you get"_ ; Niall quickly looks away, feeling somewhat hollow on the inside. Niall's eyes flickers to Conrad, his rommate - or apparently former rommate - who's inspecting his nails, head bowed and sure, Niall never got to know the guy, since he’s been knee-deep in shitty situation ever since he moved in, but he'd always hit Niall like a non-judgmental, keeping-to-himself, kind of guy; so, what is his problem?

"No. You guys. You can't just-" Niall begins to say, voice frantic, eyes darting from person to person before landing on Louis, who interrupts him, "Sure we can," he says with a smirk, stepping over outstretched legs and designer shoes to stand before Niall. He looks directly into Niall's eyes and Niall refuses to look away from his piercing gaze; refuses to give Louis that satisfaction. Louis' lips stretches into a smile. "The residents of privilege house decide who lives in here and we decided we don't want a backstabbing rat living here."

Niall’s grip on the love seat tightens as his face burns. He can’t breathe. He stares into Louis’ cool blue eyes, searching for the punch line. Waiting for him to laugh and tell him, he is just messing with him like he had done before. They are friends. Practically brothers. And yeah, Niall messed up, but doesn’t a person even get a chance to beg for forgiveness before... _this_?

“You’re kidding me,” Niall whispers and he can't believe that Louis can do _this_ against him, not after everything - had it all been a lie? had it all been too good to be true? Judging by Louis' smile, then _yes_.

“Sorry, countryboy,” Louis tilts his face slightly to the side, voice patronizing and he smiles prettily; he's enjoying this, enjoying ripping the rug from under Niall's feet, enjoying Niall's despair. And in that moment as Louis lips curls around his next words, Niall hates him with every fiber of his being.“You’re out.”

And even though Niall hates Louis in that moment, he finds himself saying, "Louis, you can't do this," voice weak and defeated. Niall looks around at the other, they can’t be onboard with this, just a small week ago, they’d all been thanking him, congratulating him for saving the dorm; saving their home, but now they are all kicking him out? Why isn't Harry doing something, is their friendship also a lie? Is all Harry wanted from him just a quick fuck? and _Liam_ , isn't he supposed to be a little more reasonable than his friends? And _Zayn_ , how can he hold the unfortunate event of the Legacy night against him? He'd been sucking faces with his _girl friend_ , letting Niall watch him doing it, chasing Niall into horny, pretty-faced teen celebreties' arms. They weren't together and apparently, they never are going to be.

Niall heart burns with hurt, these boys, he'd thought they were his friends, but here they are, throwing him out in the cold for a mistake - a mistake they're putting all on his shoulders, letting him cripple under the weight. Niall is beyond dissappointed, he'd never thought they could turn on him this fast, like it was _nothing_.

“Don’t make it worse by getting all whiny and pathetic about it,” Louis clicks his tongue, appearing like he's dealing with an annoying little toddler and Niall's jaw clenches tightly. He stares unseeingly at Louis as the boy - _devil_ , Niall thinks - holds his his hand up, tapping a finger against his platinum watch.

“57 minutes left. _Tik Tok_ , scholarship boy.” Louis sings.

 

+

 

Niall still can’t believe this is happening. He can’t believe that he’s packing up his room at Privilege House in boxes; it all feels ridicolously absurd and unreal. Obviously, Niall had been delusional, because if they really had been friends then the least they would do would hear him out, right? Give him a chance to apologize and make it right again. Niall scoffs bitterly, they'd never been friends, he'd never been _one of them_.

Niall angrily yanks open a drawer, but it gets stuck, beyond frustrated, Niall curses profanities under his breath and uses more strength than necessary to pull. He grabs his sweaters, throwing them messily into his open suitcase, doesn't care that they'll get rumply and creased. He stops mid-way, jaw clenching and eyes stinging and he hates himself; he hates himself for ruining his one chance at pursuing happiness, because Niall _knows_ that without anyone having his back in his current predicament, his life in Prescott academy is going to be hell.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," he mutters under his breath, rubbing a knuckles against his eyes - just then, a there's a tentative knock on the door and Niall startles. His face whips toward the door, blue eyes big and startled, he's just thinking that he'll _die_ if Louis had caught him so close to breaking down - _seeing how much he's gotten to him_ \- but it's not Louis, to Niall's surprise, it's _Liam_.

Liam is standing just outside the threshold of the opened door - Niall chastises himself mentally for not closing it - Liam looks at him with wide eyes that shines with apology and concern and guilt all rolled into one.

“Hey,” He says with a small smile, gaze flickering over the opened half-packed bags and he chews on his lip. He looks back at Niall and when Niall looks back with cold eyes, he casts his gaze down, rubbing his neck, shifting on his feet awkwardly. “Can I come in?” he questions cautiously, lifting his gaze to meet Niall's and with those big, puppy eyes, Niall looks away.

“Don’t ask me, this isn’t my room anymore,” Niall says, voice laced with bitterness and he harshly yanks out the next drawer that are filled with socks. Niall begins quickly emptying his socks into his suitcase, ignoring Liam who hesitates in the doorway - for all Niall cares, he can go fuck himself - until he finally steps inside and then he stands there, in the middle of the room, awkwardly. Niall can feel Liam's heavy gaze on him and he bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself from snapping and continues to pack up his stuff.

“Niall," Liam says softly and Niall doesn't stop up packing, getting to his feet and brushing past Liam toward the closet. Liam follows him with his eyes. “I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. Just give him a little more time, he always takes drastic measures. He’ll cool down soon enough.” 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Niall's voice drips with sarcasm, he grips the handle of his closet tightly, before turning to Liam with narrowed eyes. “Since everyone and not just he voted me out, then I am beginning to think I dodged a bullet.” Niall shoots Liam a pointy look before turning away, opening the closet.

“I didn’t,” Liam says behind him and when Niall turns to look at him, he finds Liam giving him a sweet smile, eyes soft. Liam takes a step closer, tentatively touches Niall's shoulder than tenses up under his touch. "I wouldn't vote you out, Niall," Liam states firmly, puppy eyes sincere. "You are my friend and I like you a lot." The statement is said in such a simple and sweet manner that Niall's whole body relaxes, tension seeping out. He looks into Liam's eyes, searching for dishonesty, but he doesn't find a grain of it; all he sees is kindness and warmth - Niall wishes Liam would've given him that look earlier in the parlor, but he's grateful that Liam isn't judging him like pretty much everyone else at this stupid school. _in this stupid house_.

"Thanks, Liam," Niall feels embarrassed at his quivering voice and watering eyes, but he can't help it; having _someone_ on his side is better than no one. Liam smiles widens, eyes crinkling and he moves forward and does what Niall expects less - but _needs the most_ \- he hugs him.

And if Liam doesn't give the best hug.

His strong arms envelops Niall, holding him close in a comforting squeeze, Niall's smaller body melts into Liam's warm body. Liam smells clean and fresh and Niall presses his face into Liam's blazer, trying to keep the grateful tears from falling. For a small moment, everything bad in the world dissappears, but only for a moment, before Niall's brain takes the liberty to remind him of his situation.

“Everybody hates my guts,” Niall whispers against the soft fabric of Liam's shirt. Liam gives him a tight squeeze, hands rubbing circles on Niall's back, "Nobody hates you," Liam says firmly, pulling a little away to look properly at Niall. “Really, you aren’t easy to dislike, Niall."

Niall laughs, short and humorlessly; he'd stupid to believe in Liam, though he wishes he could.

“Yeah, right,” Niall mutters as pulls away from Liam, takes a deep intake of air and looks around at the room. He looks back at Liam, offering a small smile. “Help me pack?”

 

+

 

The Drake house single is one of the most depressing things Niall has ever seen. The old wood floors are scratched and gouged, and a crusty stain seeps out from beneath the single bed. All the old, dingy furniture are shoved up against the walls-bed to his left, desk straight across, dresser to his right-leaving just enough space in the center of the room to walk through. Above the bed is one tall, skinny window with peeling paint all around the pane, and the whole thing looks like it might fall off if he tries to open it. He turns to check out the closet right next to the door. It is one-tenth the size of the one in Privilege House and closes over by a folding accordion door in faux wood. Compared to his room in Privilege House, this is a prison cell--a really, really cold prison cell. How can this school have rooms in this state; where did all these millionaires and billionaires parents’ money go? Maybe they should use some of that five million to renovate Drake House. These boys’ parents were paying ridiculous amounts of money for them to live like inmates.

Niall shoves open the closet's accordion door, which instantly came off its top runner, and throws his bags inside on the floor. A dust bunny skitters across the room and he feels tears well up in his eyes. How had this happened? He made one mistake. One big mistake, but still. That meant his whole life is over?

 _Okay. No crying. No crying allowed._

Niall will not let Louis get the better of him. He sits down on the bed, which creaks loudly beneath his weight, and pulls his coat closer around himself, wondering if the heater is working at all or if he'd have to complain to maintenance tomorrow. Through the open door he can hear boyish laughter and music and voices from down the hall. Unfamiliar sounds. Unfamiliar people. And suddenly he is overcome with grief. He misses his room. He misses the space and the cleanliness and the private, connected bathroom. He misses his view and his closet and the frosted lights in the ceiling and the warmth; and his quiet, keeping-to-his-own-business roommate. He misses everyone, actually. Even though they turned on him-maybe because they had turned on him-he misses them so much it hurt. 

He pulls his knees up under his chin and is about to give in to tears when he stops himself and stands up.

"No. I am not going to cry," he says under his breath, splaying his fingers out at his sides. "No crying allowed."

 

+

 

Niall doesn’t leave his room all day; he doesn’t want to face his new dormmates, doesn’t want to face anyone, really. He has chips from his bag as dinner and uses the opportunity when everyone leaves for dinner, to use the shared restrooms.

He doesn’t close an eye that night. Just lies there wide awake, under his blanket, unable to fall asleep and regretting every little mistake he has made recently as he stares up at a dark, unfamiliar ceiling.

He wishes he hadn’t slept with Harry at the Legacy.

He wishes he never had sneaked around with Zayn behind Perrie’s back.

He wishes he’d stayed home the night Josh died. He _knows_ Josh would have been alive.

As his thoughts float, they keep coming back to the same place; who filmed him those two nights? Who switched his cologne with Josh’s? Who invited all those people to wreck his birthday party? Who framed Harry? Is it the same person? Niall knows without doubt. But, is it the same person as the killer? He feels a cold chill run down his spine and he curls in on himself. Is the killer trying to murder him too? but... _why_?

He has no answer, and now, without Louis having his back, Niall feels scared and vulnerable.

 

+

 

Niall isn’t surprised by all the stares and whispers and pointing fingers in his wake. But surprisingly enough, they don’t bother him as much as he feared they would; guess it has something to do with the fact that he slept for like half an hour last night - only to wake up in cold sweat - and he’d already gotten used to it after Josh’s death. At least, if he ever becomes famous, he'll have some first-hand experience at handling the negative attention; at least there's _some_ positive outcome. Hah..

Trying to appear as unaffected as possible, he walks through the doors of the dining hall, and his eyes immediately darts to his usual table. They’re all sitting there, looking fresh-faced and well-rested, laughing and chatting; going on without him. Way to make him feel irrelevant. Liam catches sight of him, smiles brightly and just as Niall is about to return the smile, Zayn turns to see who his best friend is smiling to. Niall's breath catches a little in his throat when Zayn looks directly into his eyes, it's only for a split second; a split-second in which Niall freezes, a split-second in which Niall hopes only for the tiny hope to be crushed when Zayn quickly looks away. Niall lets out a heavy breath and he ignores the painful sting in his chest as he looks around for somewhere else to sit. That proves to be harder than thought when he's met with suspicious, unwelcoming faces - of course, nobody wants to be associated with the _outcast_ \- Niall feels weak. This isn’t going to work. He should just leave.

“Hey.” A voice sounds close behind him and Niall jumps a little startled. He spins around and is met with Jordan's kind, grey-brown eyes and Niall is a tad surprised: when those horrible videos had been released at the fundraiser, Jordan had pointedly ignored his existence at a time Niall needed a friend the most. 

“Come, you can sit with me,” Jordan gives him a small grin, slinging a friendly arm over Niall's shoulder and this time Niall feels weak with _relief_.

Niall shoots Jordan a grateful smile.“Thanks, Jordan.”

“Anytime,” Jordan says, his grin widening as he gives Niall's shoulder a small squeeze and leads him across the room. Niall ignores the stares and wave of whispers following him - doing everything to block them out as he holds his chin high. He follows Jordan to the right wing of the hall, far away from the centre where the PrivilegeHouse kids sit and he forces himself not to look up and see if Louis is watching him. He wont give him the satisfaction; never.

“What the fuck are you doing bringing him here?” it's Brandon who asks with a voice coated in disgust and Niall grimaces; he hasn't missed this guy and it's beyond him why someone kind and bubbily as Jordan hangs out with a complete douchebag like Brandon. Brandon eyes with disdainful eyes and so does the girl next to him; she has her hair in a high pony-tail and face with too much make-up this early in the morning. 

“He’s a social pariah, do you want everyone to hate us too?” She says as she looks around, noting how people are watching them and she flicks her pony tail, eyes turning from Niall to Jordan. 

Ah, look at that, it seems Brandon has found his evil, female soul mate.

“Guys, be nice,” Jordan says with a disapproving frown, shooting Niall an apologetic smile and gently pushes the blonde down in a chair next to a girl with long bangs, dyed a screaming pink and huge headphones around her small head. She gives Niall a short, uninterested glance with eyes decorated with too much blank ink, before looking away and focusing on her breakfast; Niall thinks he already likes her for not joining in with the malicious comments.

“Be nice?" Brandon says incredolously and throws his palms up in the air, staring at Jordan in complete incredulousness. "He doesn't deserve nice after what he did," Brandon sneers, leveling Niall with a judgmental gaze. Niall's hands curls into tight fists and he bites the inside of his cheek; he chants in his mind that he won't let Brandon get the better of him, won't give him the satisfaction of riling Niall up for everyone to watch. He hates Brandon and everyone in this school, judging him without giving him a tiny chance to explain himself - not that he owes them any explanation, what he has done or do is none of their business.

“Leave him alone,” Jordan frowns a little at Brandon and takes a seat next to Niall, giving Niall an encouraging smile. Niall tries to return it, but he's afraid it turns into a grimace.

“How was it? Being with both _Zayn_ and _Harry_??” Niall turns wide eyes at the unexpected, eager voice; first then, noticing the girl who's sitting by the end of the table. She has big eyes, with a bit of crazy in them and frizzy brown hair. She looks at Niall with wide, curious eyes, leaning over the table as if Niall is going to spill every little dirty detail of his regrettable hook-ups. “ _Everyone_ at this school wants to be with them," she says fiercely, "at least tell me who has _you know_ ," she looks sly then as she wriggles her eyebrows suggestively and when Niall just stares at her, she adds in a stage whisper; 

"Who's has the bigger _thundersword_." 

Niall chokes on thin air, staring at the girl in pure mortification and shock - and did she just seriously refer to Zayn's and Harry's dicks as _thunderswords_!? - the worst part is she doesn't seem unpertubed in the least, quite the contrary, she is salivating to know that exclusive, 'golden' piece of information. Niall gapes at her for a moment, before his mouth closes tightly and he turns to Jordan, looking at him with wide eyes that screams _help_. 

"Samantha, would you mind?" Jordan scolds lightly, shaking his head though he does look amused.

"Oh come ooon, at least tell me which one had more game in bed?" Samantha says and looks this time pleadingly at Niall, and Niall realizes that these people actually believe that he has had sex with Zayn; Niall feels a sour taste in his mouth at that revelation. 

"I personally bet it's Harry," Samantha says and God, Niall gets the urge to stuff the apple on her plate in her mouth - can she just _shut up_.

"Mmm, Harry would have more experience," Brandon's evil soul-mate says, licking her lips in a way that makes Niall wrinkles his nose - though he does find some joy in the sour expression on Brandon's face. "I mean, he obviously gets around - perks of being a teen celebrity." She says as if she knows anything about Harry and Niall catches himself wanting to defend the curly-haired boy, but then he remembers how Harry had turned his back on him and he bites down his tongue, shooting his gaze down.

"Zayn would be more romantic though," Samantha says, wide crazy eyes still set on Niall as if waiting for Niall to give his input; keep dreaming, Niall thinks. "Harry would be more like a quick fuck, but Zayn looks like the type with candle-light and roses and all that romantic stuff, aah, I love the artsy types," Samantha looks wistfully in the distance, Niall assumes she's fantasizing about Zayn which makes Niall feel incredibly uncomfortable...and sad; he's never going to experience what it's like to be with Zayn - really be with him. Niall feels crestfallen.

"I'm sorry about this," Jordan whispers to him and Niall smiles tightly, nodding a bit. "It's alright," he mutters under his breath.

The breakfast seems to stretch into infinity, and with Brandon constant taunting and malicious remarks along with his evil soul-mate, Melissa and Samantha - who keeps talking about Zayn even though nobody is listening and bugging Niall for details - Niall realizes that eating alone might not be that bad of an idea.

 

+

 

After a long day of more whispers, more stares, more pointing fingers, more mocking laughs, Niall seeks refugee in the library. That's the only place in the whole school that he feels safe from all the malicious words and poisonous glares, yeah, between the tall rows of book and soothing smell of old books, does Niall feel like he can finally _breathe_ without these rich kids scrutinizing his every little move. 

Niall decides to use the remaining time in the library, the remaining time before the dinner and he once again has to steel himself for more hateful looks and hurtful words. He's searching for a book to his English class, running a hand along the books, trying to spot it. He has no luck in the aisle he is in and as he walks around the bookcase, he nearly knocks into a tall, lany body. Niall freezes, so does the body and Niall gaze snaps up, looking directly into a pair of startled green eyes.

 _Harry_.

It's the first time since the break that Harry has looked into Niall's eyes and now that he does, Niall can see the guilt in his eyes, so strong, Niall can almost _taste_ it. Harry's gaze flickers around the near-empty library, eyes nervous as if afraid who might see them together - the thought makes Niall's chest go heavy, like there's a brick pressing down against it, it _hurts_.

Harry looks back at him, eyes big and he shifts a little on his feet as he opens his mouth, then closes it, then opens it again, only to end up closing it; reminding Niall of a goldfish he used to own (before he overfed it and eventually killed it - but that's another story). Niall just stares at Harry, watches the conflicting emotions in his green eyes, watches him looking torn between saying something or just walking away.

The second Harry decides to go for the latter, ducking his head so his curls hides his guilt-ridden features, does a anger, hot and searing, bolt through Niall. Niall's fingers curls into tight fists, blunt nails digging into his palms with enough pressure to draw blood but Niall barely notices the pain; intent on giving Harry a piece of his mind.

“What’s your problem, Harry?” Niall says angrily, voice wavering a little. Harry freezes in his steps, but he doesn't look, keeps his gaze firmly plastered on his new boots. Niall jaw clenches and unclenches slowly, he'd never thought that he'd genuienly want to punch Harry square in the face, but then again, he'd never thought Harry would be like _this_.

Niall closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, he can't lose it, not now.

“Why are you avoiding me?" Niall asks in a more controlled voice and Harry must hear the tint of hurt that manages to sneak into Niall's voice because he looks up at him with big eyes.“I don’t understand why I am talking all the blame for what _we_ did,” Niall talks softer now, trying to keep the eye-contact but Harry looks down, shoulders slumped a bit. “We did it together, Harry, you and I - you were in it just as much as I was. Or maybe even more since you came onto me - multiplie times - but nobody is going to know those little details, are they?” Niall lets out a small, cynical laugh and shakes his head. 

"Niall, I -" Harry begins to say, looking back at Niall, but Niall doesn't want to hear it; there's nothing in the world that can justify what Harry has done. 

“No,” Niall says firmly and Harry clasps his mouth together, looking small and unsure, blinking slowly at Niall with wide eyes. “Please save it. I don’t want to hear what you have to say. I just want you to know that I am disappointed. I really liked you, but seems like I was wrong about your all along.”

Niall doesn't wait for Harry's reaction, he simply turns on his heels and stalks away, realizing bitterly that not even in the library can he a safe haven from these self-entitled, privileged kids.

 

+

 

Niall is on his way to dinner later that same evening and he's so lost in thoughts that he doesn't look where he's looking, and he ends up walking straight into none other than Stacy Stone.

Great.

“God! look where you are going!” She says with a sneer but then she realizes who exactly she has run into and a wide, cold smirk spreads across her face. "Oh, it's you." She looks him up and down in the same way everyone has been doing today, so really, Niall feels immune to it and just stares back at her with a blank look for a moment before deciding to ignore her and walk around her.

“Guess now you know how it feels." She says loudly after him, unmistakable laughter in her voice.

Niall stops up and takes a deep breath, exhaling and watches his breath turn into a cloud in the frost, before slowly turning around and staring at her.

“How what feels?” He asks through his teeth.

"The dark side of Privilege House," She replies with a knowing smile. She walks toward him, slowly in her high heels clicking against the cobble path. She stops up just a couple of feet before him, meeting his eyes with dancing, dark eyes. “I must say after seeing those videos, you have a future in the porn industry.” She comments with a smirk.

Niall feels his whole face burn with embarrassment, anger, shame and…realization. Stacy had taken the videos. He knows for sure. She hadn’t wanted for him to attend the Legacy, and he and Harry had sex in her very bed. This is her way of revenge. Her dancing, dark eyes pierce into his and he is chilled to the core, what else is this girl capable of? Is she also the person who slipped Josh’s cologne in his bag? It makes sense.

“It was _you_ ,” he says breathlessly and swallows around a sudden lump in his throat. “You took those videos.”

She stares at him with a raised eyebrow then throw her head back with cold, mocking laugh, and Niall’s jaw clenches tightly.

“Oh no,” She tilts her face slightly to the side, smirking at him. “Though I wouldn’t have minded, it serves you right. but it’s not my style.”

“You’re lying,” Niall says, he knows she is, because if it isn’t her, then _who_?

“I don’t lie,” She says annoyed and clicks of her tongue.

“I don’t believe you,” Niall replies, shoving his fingers deeper into the pockets of his coat - subconsciously chastising himself for forgetting his gloves.

“Believe what you want to believe.” Stacy shrugs her shoulders and adds in a superior tone. “This country was founded on that principle.”

Niall stares at her, searching for some hint that she’s lying right into his face. She stares right back into his eyes in a way a person does when they have nothing to hide. Niall refuses to give up so easily though.

“Remember what I told you at your disaster of a birthday?” Stacy says, and Niall frowns confused. “I told you they were going to let you fall flat on your face, and look, I was right!” She gives him a wide, self-satisfied smile, clapping her gloved hands together mockingly. Niall's stomach twists into knots and he hates her for being right. He remembers what Louis had told him, _"dont listen to her, Niall_ ", but here Louis and the others had turned on him like it was nothing.

"That's how Louis and his satellites are," Stacy flips her long, thick hair over her back. "They'll pretend to be your friends, make you believe that you're a part of them, that you're the same, the better to stab you in the back when you least expect it." Stacy's eyes flashes, voice disgusted. She eyes Niall. "I bet Harry isn't getting the same treatment as you are.” Niall looks away. “That’s because they’ll _always_ chose each other over you, Niall; you’ll never be one of them, no matter how hard you try. Do you understand that?”

She's hitting where it hurts most and she knows it. Niall hates himself that he's letting her words pierce through him like a sharp dagger.

"What’s your deal with Privilege House anyway? With Louis?” Niall tries to not appear too curious, but apparently, he's transparent as Stacy sees right through him.

“I know you’ve been dying to know and I _know_ you’ve been snooping through my stuff,” Stacy reveals, narrowing her eyes at Niall and Niall gets busy looking everywhere but her; he's not even going to try to deny it. “Have you never heard the phrase, _‘curiousity killed the cat’_? but, fine. I’ll tell you about me and Privilege House and _Louis_ ” She spits Louis voice with resenment and places her hands in her pockets.

"Back when we were sophomores, Louis and I were best friends, had been since we were little-but you knew that already, didn't you? Snoop that you are." She glares at Niall and Niall just bites the inside of his cheek; he wants to hear this, so he says nothing, just listens.

"Before you came, you could only get invited to become a resident in Privilege House if you were a Legacy, went through a ‘hazing’ ritual and completed some ‘tasks’,” She says and Niall listens, intrigued. “Louis is a Legacy so of course he got invited, but surprisingly enough, they invited me as well though I couldn’t care less . He was so persistent, you know how he is," Stacy shoots Niall a small knowing look."..So I couldn’t say no.” Stacy's dark eyes are cold."So I went through their stupid hazing rituals for him, stole tests and snuck into the guys' dorms and all that crap, all for him," she continues, her eyes losing focus as she stares into thin air. "Their task was to break into a house and steal a preselected artifact. Louis is a legacy, so they gave him an easy task-go to his own house in New York City and bring back his mother’s Golden Globe. Simple. So we did it. All the sophomores together. Me and Louis, Liam, Danielle, Jessica, Josh, _et cetera, et cetera_." She gestures a bit with her hand. "We basically walked right in through the front door and when we came out the juniors and seniors were waiting to congratulate us. But my task wasn't so simple." She looked at Niall then. "My task was to break into my grandmother's house with its state-of-the-art security system and steal a family heirloom. To this day I don't know how they knew about that stupid box, but that was what they wanted."

Niall tries to process all the information and her story only raises more questions; what happened to the invites and hazing rituals and tests? Did Louis dismantle them once he seized power over the house? And the thought that Louis used to be ordered around and not the other way around feels like something that only could happen in a far-away, alternatice universe."Were they trying to keep you out?" Niall hears himself ask, before he even realizes he is going to speak. 

"I don't think so," She concedes. "They didn't know about the security. But I knew it was going to be impossible and I told Louis that. But he wouldn't let me back out. Privilege House was too important. So we did it. We broke in. And even though I tried to plan it carefully, we tripped an alarm." She snorts derisively. "That place was like Fort Knox. My father had insisted on it, since my grandmother had insisted on living alone. I was in my grandmother's room when the alarm went off. Had that stupid box in my hand and everything when she woke up terrified and keeled over onto the floor, right at my feet."

She spaces again, looking off into the distance. "All my supposed ‘friends’ came in and tried to drag me out of there, but at that point I was on the floor trying to help my grandmother," She continues. "They were all panicked, so one by one they all fled. Then suddenly Louis is there and telling me we had to go. The cops were coming. That we were screwed if we stayed. But what was I supposed to do? Leave my grandmother alone there to die? When it was my fault?" Niall is surprised when he sees Stacy’s eyes shine with unshed tears and she glares at him as if he had been there too. As if he had been playing Louis’ role, telling her to save her own skin. To save Privilege House instead of her grandmother; to make the choice. “He kept telling me that my grandmother would be fine. That the police were already on their way and that they would take care of her. Like he cared," Stacy says with a scoff. "But I knew better. I knew he didn't care about anyone but himself. So I told him to go. To get the hell out and leave me there with my grandma. And you know what? That's exactly what he did."

"He probably did care," Niall says flatly, automatically defending Louis. "He was trying to make sure you didn't get in trouble on top of everything else. It wasn't just about saving himself." 

"He really has you under his thumb, doesn't he?" Stacy says with an almost sad smirk. "Did you even hear what I just said? He left me there, _they_ left me there. Alone. To potentially watch my grandmother die. Louis even grabbed the silver jewelry box they wanted me to get. It was all about completing the task. All about impressing Privilege House." 

"So I was the only one who got arrested that night, though my father had the charges dropped later," Stacy continues, standing up straight and facing him again. "And last year I went to school in Boston so I could help care for my grandmother, but she was never the same again. The whole family was relieved when she finally passed on this summer, saying she had gone to a better place, but at the funeral no one could even look at me. They all blame me, and they should. It's my fault she's gone. Privilege House's fault." 

In spite of himself, Niall’s heart actually goes out to her right then. He can’t imagine the pain of what she'd been through. How it must have felt to know what she had done. How awful. How incredibly awful. 

"So that, Niall, is why I hate Privilege House. Why I hate Louis,” She says, stepping closer to him, getting right in his face. "And Louis is still walking around like he's God's gift, lording his power over everyone. But I know what he really is. What he's capable of. That's why I'll do anything to see the Ivory Tower fall. _Anything_." 

What is she implying? Is she actually threatening to hurt Louis right in front of him? A blast of cold realization shoots through him, even though the air is now still. Had she murdered Josh? It would make sense, according to her, Josh had been there the night they all left her with her grandmother. And now Louis is next? Is that how she is going to make the so-called 'Ivory Tower' fall? 

“Oh, and it seems someone else is out to get you,” Stacy's voice snaps Niall out of his thoughts and he looks at her, smirking at him. “Sweet dreams tonight, Niall”

With that, She turns on her heels and strust away. Niall stands there, still and frozen for a good minute, staring after her. Is she really capable of murder? Did she really murder Josh? Is she going to hurt Louis? Yes she is, she more or less said it.

Niall can’t let her do that. He has to stop her somehow.

 

+

 

“Wow, this place is sucks,” Jordan says bluntly as he looks around at Niall's tiny room.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Niall mutters moodily and throws his book bag on his unmade bed, before sitting down on his chair and opening his laptop. “We’ll begin on the math, I just have to check my emails, real fast.”

“Sure, take your time,” Jordan replies and flops down on Niall’s bed, pulling out his phone.

Niall has been emailing more regularly with Greg the last couple of days, his brother’s terrible humor helps him get through the day. There’s a new email, but it’s from an unknown address. Frowning, Niall clicks it open and when he sees what the single sentence says, coldness wraps around his heart and throat and squeezes tight until he can barely breathe.

**It’s your fault Josh’ dead.**

“Niall? Are you alright? Lookin’ a little paler over there.” Jordan’s worried voice is like a distant sound, drowned out by the blood rushing in Niall’s ear and his heavy, painful heartbeat. Who sent this? What did they mean by Josh’s death being his fault? Is it Stacy messing with him? He feels himself come short of breath, and when he hears Jordan walking over, he quickly closes his email.

“Hey, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Jordan says, leaning over Niall and glances at the screen, confused.

Niall pushes himself away from his laptop and with jelly legs, he staggers to his bed, dropping down on it in an ungraceful heap. He digs his nails into his thighs, clenches his eyes tightly shut and tries to pull himself back from sure break-down; he feels sick to his bones, he feels like throwing up everything he has ever eaten. He hears the bed dip next to him as Jordan sits down, his hand rubbing cautious circles into Niall's stiff back. They sit in complete silence for a couple of minutes before Niall looks into Jordan's confused eyes.

“I am going to find out who killed Josh,” Niall's says hoarsely and looking into Jordan's wide-eyed, surprised gaze, he adds; “And you’re going to help me.”


	21. Chapter 21

Revised Privilege

The very next morning, Niall is slumped in the junior pew, half-asleep - a good night's sleep seems to have turned into a rarity in his life - and he's too tired to notice or for that matter care about the usual stares and whispers. His day-dreaming of a large warm, soft bed in a far-away,safe place is cut short when someone slides in next to him. At first Niall sits straighter, turning to look who on earth is sitting next to him willingly and he's beyond surprised when he's met with green eyes and pretty curls - _Harry_.

Suddenly, Niall is wide awake as he stares at Harry, Harry who doesn't look away, meets Niall's eyes with a soft, nervous smile.

"Hi," he greets softly. Niall blinks. Around him, he can already hear new, ridiculous rumors being born for the sake of gossiping on his expense. 

“What the fuck do you want?” Niall asks, maybe harsher than intended and Harry winces a little as he casts his gaze down and nervously fingers his curls; Niall is caught between wanting to softly play with Harry's hair and viciously pull in it. Before he can decide on either, Harry raises his gaze.

 

“Niall, look, I am so, so, _so_ sorry for everything that has happened - I really am. Louis has no right to kick you out,” Harry says quietly as he leans closer to Niall until their shoulders bumps and Niall can smell the shampoo in Harry's hair; Niall immediately shifts uncomfortably, putting distance between them. “It’s not like he doesn’t sleep around whenever he wants to. He just thinks he can dictate other people’s lives.” Harry's eyes harden for a second, jaw clenching before he gives Niall soft eyes, begging for forgiveness.

“Isn’t he going to get mad, you sitting with me and talking to me?” Niall avoids looking at Harry and he doesn’t even dare and turn to look at the Seniors’ rows; maybe it’s his imagination, but he feels Louis' glare burn holes into the back of his head; it’s almost making him sweat.

“Trust me, I don't care. He can't do this to you,” Harry says in a fierce whisper and when Niall looks over, he sees the pop star frowning, green eyes narrowed, and Niall knows Louis and Harry have been fighting; it doesn't make him feel guilty, not at all.

Suddenly, Harry's big hand falls down on his thigh and Niall tenses at the unexpected contact, gaze flickering around nervously. "Niall," Harry whispers insistently, forcing Niall to look at him. "Please, don't be mad at me, I mean, you have every right to, but I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry." Harry chews down on his unusually red lips, gaze wide and pleading.

Niall immediately looks away from Harry’s big eyes, afraid that if he looks into them for one more second, he might cave. He doesn’t want to forgive Harry so easily, but here Harry is, going against Louis to apologize to Niall. Niall knows that Louis is going to give Harry so much shit for that, so he takes a deep breath, looks at Harry and manages a small smile.

"Fine," Niall mutters, trying to keep his voice indifferent and cold, but then Harry is grinning big at him, pretty dimples denting his cheeks - the little idiot looks so cute, it’s fucking ridiculous - as he gives Niall’s thigh a tight squeeze, which in turn makes inappropriate images of Harry’s long fingers flash along his inner mind. Niall quickly knocks Harry’s hand off of him as he tries to fight off the blush threatening to taint his cheeks red - _fucking hell_ , he needs to get a grip, his raging hormones if what got him into this mess to begin with.

“Thank you,” Harry says bright-eyed and grins as he curl his fingers around Niall’s shoulder and pulls him into a side-ways hug, burying his nose in the crook of Niall’s neck. Niall allows himself a split-second in which he inhales the heavenly shampoo in Harry’s hair, before shrugging the boy off of him and pushing him out of his personal space.

“Don’t push it,” Niall says, trying to appear stern but he fails when a smile breaks out on his lips; Harry returns it tenfold.

“I missed you so much, I-” Harry begins saying but before he can finish, Jordan slides into the pew behind them, shooting the pop star a surprised look as he takes a seat.

“Hey,” Jordan greets and Niall tilts his face toward Jordan, giving the boy a smile. "Hey." he replies softly. Just then, Niall can't keep his gaze from sliding to the back of the room and he gulps when he sees Louis, looking right at him, _glaring_ right at him with blazing blue eyes and Niall quickly looks away; he can’t held accountable for what Harry does, seriously.

"Good morning, faculty and students of Easton Academy!" Headmistress Jensen’s voice booms from the front where she has taken her spot at the podium, her steely gaze sweeping over the chapel as she grabs everyone’s attention.

"Good morning, Headmistress Jensen," they dutifully recite.

With a satisfied nod, Mrs. Jensen gets right down to the morning announcements.

"This year I have decided to reinstate an old Prescott Academy tradition - the Prescott Academy Holiday Dinner,” She announces grandly and instantly, the sleepy, morning atmosphere in the chapel shifts to an excited buzz. Niall’s eyes darts around, confused and curious, as it seems everyone else knows what this supposed dinner is except him. He turns wide, confused eyes to Harry and Harry opens his mouth to explain, but Mrs. Jensen beats him to it.

"For those of you who are new to our community, the Prescott Academy Holiday Dinner is a catered banquet held in the dining hall,” Mrs. Jensen informs. “There will be traditional holiday fair and decorations, the Prescott Academy Chorale will treat us to a holiday concert, and everyone will have a chance to relax and unwind before finals. All students and faculty are invited. In my day this dinner was the social event of the season. I'm hoping it will be that again." 

Niall is a bit perplexed by how excited all these privileged kids are about a dinner in the cafeteria as he listens to their gabbing about how their fathers and grandfathers always talked about the Holiday Dinner and how brilliant it is.

"The dinner will be held next Friday night. Dress will be formal," The headmastistress continues, gaining everyone’s attention once again as the students turn to her with interested eyes. "Also, each student will be receiving a special note in his or her mailbox this afternoon. This note will contain the name of another Prescott student. You are to select a gift for this student and bring it, wrapped in holiday paper, to the dinner, to be placed under the Prescott tree."

“I hope I get to gift you,” Harry says as he once again leans into Niall’s personal space - he has a habit of doing that, doesn’t he - smiles cutely at Niall. Niall rolls his eyes a bit, “you’re trying too hard.” he whispers back. “Is it working?” Harry replies with a cheeky grin and Niall is seconds away from poking a finger into Harry’s dimple; it’s really hard to resist, but before he can, Headmistress Jensen calls for silence, the chapel instantly going quiet.

"Finally," she says, "the Holiday Dinner also includes a toasting hour, one of my favorite traditions. During this hour any student who wishes to do so will have the opportunity to stand up and toast another member of the Prescott community, whether it be for their service to the school or their academic achievement or their steadfast friendship. It is an honor to be singled out during toasting hour, so if you intend to speak for someone, please prepare your toast in advance. Your speeches should be eloquent and from the heart. Anyone giving an inappropriate speech will, of course, be dealt with accordingly. That is all."

Just like that, an idea hits Niall like a light bolt and he straightens up; maybe it isn’t too late to apologize to Louis and win him back. Sure, the boy screwed him over and turned pretty much the whole school against him, but Niall knows by the end of the day, he betrayed Louis’ trust; no matter how fucked up Louis’ way of dealing with it is and how fucked up and _vague_ Harry’s and Louis’ relationship is.

+

“You don’t look good,” Jordan says concerned when they later that day meet in Jordan’s room to start their little _project_. Niall lets out an angry huff as he drops down heavily on the chair by Jordan’s desk. He pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance and clenches his eyes shut; trying to convince himself that taking his lacrosse stick and beating Louis fucking Tomlinson to a bloody pulp with it, probably won’t end well for him.

“I’m fine,” He says through clenched teeth as he fishes out his small notebook; it’s lie, he is sore all over from lacrosse practice, where they’d had a practice match and Louis had more or less used every chance he got to wipe his face with the ground. It makes Niall reconsider his plan of apologizing to Louis. The guy is being a complete _douchebag_ , and Niall wonders if he even is worth being friends with; but only for a second, because deep down, Niall knows he’s _worth it_.

He shakes off every thought of the annoyingly powerful boy, because at the moment, there are much more _important_ matters at hand.“I’ve written down possible suspects,” Niall says and flips to the page with the lists of names.

Jordan grabs his roommates’ chair and drags it up next to Niall as he brushes his orange locks out of his eyes, peering down at the list with interested, curious eyes. 

“Uhm…there’s only one name,” Jordan points out unnecessarily, looking a bit confused as he raises his questioning gaze on Niall, who scratches the back of his head, pursing his lips.

“It’s her, I am sure,” he says firmly, meeting Jordan’s gaze. Jordan looks thoughtful, tapping a finger against his chin, “Stacy Stone?” he says slowly, “now that you mention it, she has quite the grudge against Privilege House, what with what she tried to pull at the fundraiser and everything. If you ask me, I think she sent those videos.”

“Just my thoughts!” Niall exclaims happily, finally _someone_ agrees with him and takes him serious; and in that moment, Niall is grateful for Jordan.

“…but how do we convince the police? They’ll need solid proof,” Jordan says with a light frown, and Niall nods, he’d already thought of that, of course he had. He looks at Jordan with a slow smirk as he says, “we’ll just have to give them solid proof then,” Niall’s eyes are mischievous as he adds, “I’m sure a little _search_ in her room will give us just that.”

As Niall had predicted, Jordan’s whole face breaks out in an excited grin, eyes glinting; this boy enjoys sneaking around in people’s rooms a little too much, Niall can’t help but think.

“I’m _so_ on!” He says as he lifts his palm up in the air and Niall rolls his eyes fondly, before smacking his palm with Jordan’s. “So, when do we do it?” Jordan asks excitedly, sitting on the edge of his chair, knee bouncing a little restlessly and Niall gives a laugh.

“We begin as soon as possible,” He replies, smacking his notebook closed; he just wants all this mess to be over and done with, he’s tired of feeling scared of his own shadow lately. Jordan must read his thoughts, because the next second, his hand is against Niall’s shoulder and Niall lifts his gaze to his.

“It’s going to be over soon….I promise,” Jordan says in an uncharacteristically solemn voice, expression serious and Niall nods slowly.

“Yes.”

+

That same afternoon, Niall is hurrying down the cobble path, hands shoved deep in his pocket to shield them from the harsh, unforgiving weather as he hurries along the path, fallen leaves crunching under his boots. 

As Niall walks into the Post Office, none other than _Perrie_ is walking out and Niall’s heart immediately jumps to his throat, palms sweating. Perrie automatically holds the door open but then she sees it’s him, her normally friendly and open face shuts down completely as she lets the heavy door slam closed behind her. Niall swallows down a yelp as he dodges the door and if not for his reflexes he could’ve been crushed.

He stands there still for a moment, breathing heavily and wide, blue eyes following Perrie as she briskly walks away before he snaps out of it; taking a decision. “Perrie, please wait!” he shouts as he chases after her, and she stops up and spins around so fast, her loose blond hair gets in her face, pleated skirt dancing around her legs. Niall stops up as well as she fixes him with cold, glaring eyes and he swallows heavily; maybe this isn’t the right time for this.

“ _What_?” she more or less spits out, brushing her hair out of her face with an irritated motion before crossing her arms tightly under her chest, emitting such an hostile air that Niall considers turning on his heels and walking away. Though he grows some balls, straightens up and looks Perrie directly in the eye; if anyone, Perrie is the one who deserves an apology, even more than Louis.

“Perrie, I know you probably don’t want to talk to me, but I just want to apologize for sneaking around with Zayn behind your back,” Niall rushes to say, voice sincere and eyes wide; Perrie pulls her lips into a thin line, but Niall continues bravely; “It was such a shitty and horrible thing to do and I know…I know nothing can change what happened and nothing in this world can make it alright again..” he takes a deep breath as Perrie briskly turns her face away, shoulders tense but she doesn’t walk away, so Niall continues; “You were a really good friend to me and I’m sorry for ruining everything; for betraying your trust.”

Niall takes a few cautious steps forward, stopping when Perrie turns guarded eyes on him.

“I understand that you hate me and I hate myself more for hurting you like this,” Niall’s voice thickens with emotions, eyes big and sincere, Perrie shifts on her feet, crossed arms loosening a little as she studies Niall with an unreadable gaze; “Perrie, there’s nothing I can say that’ll erase what happened - God, I wish it could, I really do…all I can say is that I’m so, so sorry for everything.” Niall’s eyes moisten and he looks down, embarrassed, flitting his fingers through his hair. 

Perrie stares at him for one long moment, with eyes Niall can’t read, before she uncrosses her arms, shoulders dropping a little. She shakes her head with an almost sad smile as her gaze falls on her shoes for a moment, hair falling over her face. She lifts her gaze to Niall, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

“It was so obvious, I think I knew all along,” she says quietly, looking directly into Niall’s eyes and Niall finds himself looking away, unable to see the hurt in her eyes. “the way he looked at you…like you were the sun and the moon and the stars,” Perrie lets out a small, humorless chuckle before biting down her lip and Niall’s heart pangs; he’s never felt more like an asshole than now, he’s never hurt a girl like this. He catches himself from saying that Zayn doesn’t care about him as much as she apparently believes; if he did, he wouldn’t have turned on him so fast, wouldn’t have went along with Louis’ twisted ways. Though he doesn’t, finds it wisest to just keep his trap shut.

“Yeah…I should’ve seen it coming,” Perrie looks to the side, eyes a little distant, “but I didn’t want to believe that he could look at anyone else the way he used to look at me, I didn’t want to believe that he’d like you the way he likes me…or used to,” Perrie eyes waters and Niall has to fight off the urge to spring forward and give her tight hug, knowing that it’d be a terrible idea. He never thought he’d be able to break someone’s heart so completely, but here he is; this place is only turning him to the worst possible version of himself.

Perrie sniffs furiously to keep the tears from falling, “it’s not your fault that he likes you,” she says, looking at Niall, “but I don’t think I can ever forgive you for stealing his heart.”

“Perrie - I-“ Niall begins to say, stepping forward but Perrie shakes her head briskly, quickly drying away an escaped tear. She takes a deep inhale as she composes herself, gracefully flipping her hair over her back and she gives Niall a last look with slightly red eyes, before she turns around and walks away.

Niall watches her go, with the guilt and regret twisting his stomach into tight knots and he knows, he’s lost Perrie forever; it makes him feel crestfallen. His shoulders slumps a little as he too turns away and swings the door wide open, walking inside as he tries to ignore the ever-growing hole in his heart.

Niall looks around warily at the jam-packed Post Office, the chatting students are standing around and their excitement in the air is palpable. Everyone is there for the same reason he is, to find out who they would gift at the Holiday Dinner as they all hold small blue cards, passing them around to check the names they contain.

He steels himself for another wave of glares, stares and whispers as he rolls his shoulders back and weaves his way through the crowd. As sudden pockets of silence follow him all the way to his box, he tries to fight down the blush but he feels it burn his face, giving off as much heat as at least the fucking summer sun; he somehow manages to get to his mailbox and concentrate on opening his mailbox without tripping over his own feet due to the pressure of too many eyes on him. 

Then he sees someone step up to a box a few feet away from him and Niall can feel whoever it is eyeing him tentatively. Against his own will, Niall glances over as his damned curiosity gets the better of him and he ends up staring like an idiot; it’s a rather attractive guy, Niall knows he hasn’t seen him before, he’d remember a pretty face like that if he saw it. The guy has tousled blonde hair, tanned skin and sharp cheekbones. He is wearing a wrinkled Rapt Lauren oxford in light blue, with a yellow and navy striped tie casually loosened around his neck - and pulling the look off like nobody’s business.

The guy shoots Niall a perfect boyish smile when their eyes meet, “hey,” he says, locking his mail-box and stepping up to Niall, tentatively. Once Niall realizes that he still staring like a retard, does the blush cover his cheeks a light pink.

“Uhm, hey,” Niall mutters more than a little confused and wary; why is this guy approaching the school’s pariah? Is this some kind of evil prank? Niall’s eyes flits around nervously, noticing how more than a few people are observing them. He knows there’ll be a rumor about him running rampant before the minute is over. Niall’s brain is about go over all the possible, ridiculous, _horrible_ things they’ll say about him, but then the guy speaks;

“I’m Hunter Braden, I live next door to you at Drake,” the guy has a deep, soothing voice and it sounds familiar; of course, he’d heard the boy’s voice and laughter through the paper-thin walls of his room. Niall is surprised, most of Drake House residents are A-class nerds, and Niall hadn’t expected that such a cute guy would live just next door.

“…hey, I’m Niall Horan,” Niall replies, shifting a little on his feet, his guard still up, because he doesn’t understand where exactly this is headed.

“I know,” Hunter says with a knowing smile, Niall blushes; he doesn’t know whether it’s a good or bad thing that everyone on this Godforsaken school knows about him. As he notices a few girls standing a little away, glancing at them curiously and whispering and giggling together, he decides that it’s definitely a bad thing; given as they all are judging him without knowing shit about him.

“Ignore them,” Hunter says, bringing Niall’s attention back on him; Hunter gives the girls a short, bored glance, before looking back at Niall, “they don’t have much else to do in life.” 

The corners of Niall’s lips lift up in a smile at that, “I would say,” he says, straightening a bit up. Hunter looks at him for one long moment, so long that Niall feels his face heat up and then he smiles that perfectly boyish, charming smile of his.

“Hey, do you want to read homework together?” Hunter suddenly asks out of the blue and Niall looks at him surprised, “I’m fairly sure we don’t have any classes together,” he replies; he still doesn’t know what to think of all of this. 

Hunter looks sly. “I know, but you could do homework and I could stare at you adoringly; because you’re really cute.” Hunter lets his eyes slide subtly over Niall’s body at those words, before he gazes deeply into his eyes and Niall blushes a deep red, eyes wide and surprised; he can’t believe that the guy is actually flirting with him, because considering Niall’s current social status in the school, it’s intriguing.

It _seems_ that Hunter is the kind of person that doesn’t give a single care in the world of what people think, and Niall can only say that is a thing he appreciates in a person; Hunter has already scored major points in his book for not just following the flow and hating on him for no reason whatsoever. Niall can work with this, he thinks.

“My room tomorrow evening?” Hunter asks, snapping Niall out of his thoughts. Niall looks into the guy’s hopeful eyes, first then notices that they are a clear blue with a small ring of grey surrounding the iris. Niall is still a bit wary, but he finds himself nodding slowly despite himself.

“Uhm…okay, I guess?” he says unsurely, but Hunter doesn’t seem to notice as he grins at him. 

“Awesome! See you later then!” he spins around and walks out, completely oblivious to the stares trailing after him.

A smile stretches along Niall’s lips as he turns to open his mailbox. Inside, he finds the same little blue card everyone else has received. He pulls it out and flips it over. 

**ZAYN MALIK, PRIVELIGE HOUSE, JUNIOR.**

Niall’s jaw clenches tightly as glares holes into the name as if it’ll disappear if he just tries hard enough, “is this a fucking joke,” he mutters under his breath and he wouldn’t be surprised if even the school’s administration is out to get him, because why the fuck not jump on the _“we hate Niall Horan”_ train. Niall imagines Mrs. Jensen sitting somewhere in her big office chair, cackling maniacally like a movie villain, and really, he might have been in her office more than what’s good for the past few weeks, but no reason to do _this_ to him.

Niall finds himself wondering where he can get some living cockroaches, so he can wrap then in a box and gift it to Zayn, because with the way the Prince has been acting lately, he’d deserve it. Niall shakes of the amusing visual of Zayn screeching like a little girl - completely losing his cool demeanor - when the cockroaches crawl all over his royal being.

It seems it’s about time Niall gets a talk with the school’s Prince.

+

Niall is five-seconds away from freezing into a permanent ice sculpture when Zayn finally decides to show his pretty face. Zayn halts abruptly in his steps when he sees Niall standing there and waiting for him, his eyes turning a bit wide in surprise as he simply stares. Niall stares right back, or maybe _glares_ would be more appropriate. Niall’s jaw grits tightly together when Zayn promptly turns around to walk away.

“You’re a fucking asshole, Zayn,” Niall says loudly after him, nose flaring a bit with the anger slowly simmering in his belly. Zayn stops up in his tracks and Niall seizes his chance, stepping a bit closer as he says in a quieter tone, “you can’t give a reason for the way you’re acting can you? or maybe it’s because I slept with Harry, is that it?” 

Niall seems to hit the nail on the head as Zayn’s whole body tenses up, shoulders curling, though he doesn’t turn around. Niall scoffs in disbelief, shaking his head, “You’re hypocrite as well,” he says annoyed, “we weren’t together, you can’t hold that against me, you were with Perrie, remember? Stop acting like I … like I _cheated_ on you or something.”

Zayn doesn’t reply, still with his back to Niall and Niall lets out a frustrated huff, the air turning into a cloud in the frosty weather. 

“If _this_ is who you really are, Zayn….then good to know,” Niall says, shoulders slumping slightly in disappointment. “I guess my expectations of you were too high.” Niall waits for Zayn to say something, but Zayn remains still and unresponsive much to Niall’s frustration. Niall shakes his head and turns around, walking away and if he feels Zayn’s gaze following him, he forces himself not to look back.

Apparently, it’s really over between him and Zayn, and Niall stubbornly ignores his heavy heart as he tries to convince himself that he doesn’t need Zayn.

+

Later that same evening, Niall and Hunter are in Niall’s tiny room - according to Hunter, they couldn’t be in his room as his roommate has his girlfriend over - they’re bent over Niall’s math homework, and Niall is pleasantly surprised to discover that Hunter is a real _math nerd_ ; and since he’s a senior, he’s become a huge help in Niall’s current math project.

“Oh wow, thank you so much,” Niall says as he straightens up, beginning to gather his notes and books, beyond satisfied with the work he has got done; at least there’s some highlight to this shitty day. “I never thought you were the brainy type, I guess looks are deceiving,” he says grinning and Hunter mocks a horrified gasp, putting a hand over his chest in feign heartbreak.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” he asks, attempts to sound offended but fails as his lips quirks up in a crooked smile when Niall laughs lightly. Niall shakes his as he gets to his feet, putting his books away, “actually yeah,” he says, glancing at Hunter, “I’m saying you’ve got the whole pretty boy look going on, but who thought you had the whole package?” and even though Niall doesn’t mean for it to come across as flirt, it does and really, when he sees Hunter grin, Niall doesn’t care.

“Don’t flatter me, it gets to my head,” Hunter says playfully, causing Niall to laugh, “alright then, I’ll stop stroking your ego,” Niall teases.

“Oh no, I was just trying to be modest, keep going,” Hunter says in an absolutely serious expression that makes Niall laugh again, though he stops laughing when he sees the sudden intense gaze Hunter is fixing him with. 

“Uhm I should probably get to sleep,” Niall mutters, glancing at Hunter who nods quickly as he gets to his feet.

“Of course, get your beauty rest,” Hunter says with a small smirk and Niall moves forward to walk him to the door - never mind it’s like a few feet away - but Hunter doesn’t move, causing them to stand close. And maybe Niall should’ve seen this coming, he’d noticed the way Hunter had been gazing at him all night, though he’d hoped he didn’t move _this_ fast.

At the moment, Hunter is gazing so deeply into Niall’s eyes that Niall’s flesh prickles with heat the intensity of his grey-blue eyes; Niall has already decided that if the guy insisted on kissing him, then he’d let him, only one kiss though. So, he isn’t all that surprised when Hunter’s eyes flickers down to his lips as he steps forward, grabs Niall elbow and leans down, planting a kiss on Niall’s lips; Niall is surprised by how _wrong_ it feels and as he feels the unfamiliar tongue search through his mouth eagerly, he can’t help his thoughts from jumping to a certain, dark-haired boy with tawny eyes.

_Zayn._

He finds himself pushing Hunter away from him, looking away from Hunter’s confused gaze, “I’m sorry, I- I can’t,” he whispers hoarsely, avoiding Hunter’s eyes. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…I uh,” Hunter scrambles to apologize and ends up trailing off awkwardly as he scratches the back of his head, gaze sliding elsewhere, “I’m such an idiot,” he mutters with pinks cheeks.

“No, you’re not, I- uh… “ the awkward air in the room is enough to halt the words in Niall’s throat and really, he just wishes he was somewhere else or Hunter was somewhere else. Seemingly, Hunter shares his thoughts as he begins to inch toward the door, “I swear, I wont do it again without your permission,” he says, “forgive me?”

“It’s fine, I swear, don’t sweat it,” Niall hurries to say, wishing that he’d just drop it already. Hunter’s lips twitches up in an unsure smile and he runs a hand through his blonde locks, “right, I’ll be going, uhm--just knock if you need anything, yeah?”

Niall nods and Hunter shoots him a last unsure look before turning around and opening the door, only to reveal none other than _Zayn_ ; Zayn who has his fist raised, seemingly ready to knock. Zayn looks surprised at Hunter, “Sorry, I think I got the wrong room,” he mutters and is about to turn around.

“No, if it’s Niall you want, then he’s here,” Hunter says as he moves out of the way so he isn’t blocking Niall and Zayn halts, turning to peer over Hunter’s shoulder, dark eyes clashing with surprised blue.

“Oh,” Zayn says quietly, quickly looking away from Niall’s gaze and Hunter glances between Niall and Zayn, doubtlessly feeling the sudden tension as he brushes past Zayn, slipping out. 

This leaves Niall staring at Zayn who’s lingering in the doorway, looking awkward and of course, undeniably hot; wearing a leather-sleeved jacket over a red hoodie and a beanie pulled over his hair - Niall kind of hates him for looking good in anything he wears.

When Zayn just stands there and the awkward silence stretches to the point of painful, Niall moves forward, grabbing the side of the door, “what are you doing here, Zayn?” it comes out cold, but Niall can’t help it; Zayn has given him the cold shoulder for the past two days. 

Zayn doesn’t look his usual confident self as he eyes Niall with wary and nervous eyes. “I’m here to talk to you,” he says, sounding unsure, “could I possible come inside?” he asks quietly and glances at the Drake boys bustling in the hall and shooting him curious looks. Niall hesitates for a moment, but he wants to hear what Zayn has to say so he moves out of the way. Niall closes the door when Zayn walks in, before turning to face the Prince expectantly; seriously, this better be good.

Zayn looks around the room slowly, taking his time and maybe even trying to stall time as he takes off the beanie, running a hand through his hair - Niall can’t help but notice that it’s product-free as it falls softly over Zayn’s dark eyes. 

“I want to say I’m sorry,” Zayn finally says, turning his gaze on Niall. “I know it might be a little too late to apologize but you’re right. I had no right acting the way I did… It’s just…” Zayn’s jaw clenches a little as he swallows “…seeing you with Harry _killed_ me,” he glances at the floor before meeting Niall’s eyes and Niall can see the hurt in his eyes.

“I couldn’t look at your face without that damn video flashing before my eyes and I still can’t look at Harry without wanting to punch him in the face,” Zayn looks down at the beanie in his hand, fingering it. “I guess that I was hurt and I didn’t care that you got hurt too in the process,” Zayn shakes his head a bit. “I was selfish in acting that way and wanting you all to myself without letting go of Perrie. I think the reason I wasn’t ready to let her go was because I still liked her and I didn’t want to hurt her; which is stupid because what I was doing was already hurting her,” Zayn continues with a light scoff as if he can’t believe his own mindset. “But being with her was different than being with you. She was my comfort zone, I felt safe being with her, but with you… you…” Zayn searches for the words as he looks directly into Niall’s eyes and Niall hates himself for getting a little lost in the golden amber as he waits with baited breath, “…you make me feel unsure, unsure if I am the only one feeling the way I do. Unsure if you’ll grow bored with me… I never know what to think about you.”

As Niall stares at Zayn, he can’t believe that he can ever be capable of making _Zayn_ of all people feel unsure of where he stands. Zayn takes a few steps closer to him and smiles that damn coy smile of his that makes him look irresistible and shy all at once.

“All I know, is that I like you a lot and I don’t want to share you with Harry…I don’t want to share you with anyone.” Niall feels his cheeks heat up and his heart expand in his chest. “So what I am asking you is can you forgive me? Can we rewind and pretend I wasn’t such an ass? Please, Niall? I…still want to be with you.”

Maybe it’s the way Zayn says it - so sure of what he wants, but looking so unsure of what Niall might say - or maybe it’s the way Zayn looks at him, either way, Niall finds himself moving forward. He impulsively grabs Zayn’s face between his hands and gives him a deep kiss on the lips.

Once he pulls away, Zayn looks wide-eyed and breathless, and Niall can’t help the grin that stretches along his lips, “I don’t understand how you can be cute _and_ hot at the same time,” he says, tongue sliding along his lips and Zayn follows the motion and cracks a grin. He wraps an arm around Niall’s thin waist and pulls him closer. 

“I take that as a yes?” he says quietly with big amber eyes and maybe, for a moment there, Niall thinks of Perrie and how hurt she is, but he knows one thing and that is that right now, he wants to be with Zayn.

So, he leans in and plants a sweet, chaste kiss on Zayn’s plump lips, breathing a “yeah,” against them. Zayn’s face beams with the shine of a thousand suns, which in turn causes Niall’s heart to do a rather unhealthy flip in his chest and now he knows for sure, there’s nowhere he rather be; he might not be sure how exactly he feels about Zayn, but there’ll be plenty time to find out. If he isn’t taken out with whomever it is that’s out after him before, that is.

Zayn wipes the thought off his mind by grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him into breathtaking kiss that leaves Niall’s mind fuzzy and blank. The kiss is somehow different than all the other’s they shared, and Niall knows it isn’t just because it’s more gentle, slower and sweeter, he feels a _hidden promise_ between the meet of their lips. Zayn’s tongue gently prods his lips, and Niall opens his mouth invitingly, letting Zayn’s familiar tongue grace the roof of his mouth, remapping every conjure and crevice there is. Niall tastes banana and pie and smoke and Zayn all in once as Zayn pulls back his tongue and Niall chases his taste. They stand there, kissing for an eternity, but it doesn’t feel nearly enough for Niall; he wants more.

Zayn holds him close to him, his hand pressed against the small of Niall’s back as he kisses him again and again until they can’t breathe any longer; and as Niall feels Zayn so close and perfect against him, he can’t help but crave for _more_.

 _all of Zayn_.

As their lips move in synchs, Niall frantically pushes off Zayn’s jacket, letting it fall to the floor. He pulls away from Zayn, panting and looks into his eyes searchingly, and he sees the want he feels reflected in his black eyes. So he takes Zayn by the hand and leads him further into the small room before he drops down on the bed, spreading his legs slightly and gazing up at Zayn with eyes impossible to misread.

Zayn stands before him, gazing right back at him for one long moment

Zayn stares down at him for one long moment before he hunches over Niall’s smaller frame, sliding a knee between the blonde’s legs as he bends down and catches his lips in another kiss. Niall grabs him by his collar and leans back, bringing Zayn with him until he’s flat on his back with Zayn hovering over him.

“Are you sure you want to-“

“Yes. I want you.”

+

Being with Zayn is a completely different thing from being with Harry, probably because with Harry, it had been a quick fuck; a lust-filled encounter between friends with no deeper feelings involved.

But the way Zayn touches him, the way he holds him, the way he _looks_ at him makes something warm spread through his entire body, settling in his heart, expanding it until Niall feels like it might implode. 

They take things slow, not wanting it to be rushed, not wanting it to end too soon. They explore each other’s body, touching every inch of each other they can reach, awed and curious at what can elicit a gasp or moan from the other. 

They kiss for an eternity, but the kiss is enough to make the heat grow and pool in Niall’s crotch, making a breathy moan falling over his lips every time Zayn’s knee accidently graces it.

Zayn’s mouth is hot when he kisses his neck, gently biting down the juncture of his shoulder and neck to leave a mark while his fingers slowly unbutton Niall’s shirt. Once Niall’s is shirtless, Zayn takes his time exploring every patch of newly exposed skin, torturing his hard nipples, dragging his fingers along his side and kissing every inch of skin his mouth can reach while Niall breathes heavily underneath, every twist and roll of a nipple eliciting a moan from him.

Niall pushes Zayn off of him until he can bend down and work on his trousers with slightly shaky hands and when he gets a hand around Zayn, the boy’s breathe hitches and he runs a hand through Niall’s hair. Niall makes a dirty show out of spiting in his palms and stroking it along Zayn before giving a strong tug, making Zayn’s eyes flutter and teeth bite down his lip. Niall keeps eye contact as he slaps the head against his tongue, giving it an experimental lick and he can see how wide Zayn’s pupils are blown as he stares down at him, fisting his hair even harder.

“Oh, _baby_ ,” Zayn groans, raking his nails against Niall’s skull, his mouth falling open in an ‘O’ shape as Niall licks his way up to the base, taking him in little by little until the tip hits the back of his throat. Zayn’s groans a quiet, “fuck” at the intense pleasure that gives him and also at the fact that Niall doesn’t gag at all. Niall continues his ministrations until he can taste Zayn in his mouth, hot and heavy. He swallows the best he can, pulls away with a loud, wet sound and stares into Zayn’s heavy-lidded eyes as he scoops some of Zayn’s come from the corner of his mouth and makes a show of licking it off his fingers.

“You’re making me crazy,” Zayn growls and shoves Niall back on the bed, surging down and reclaiming Niall’s mouth in a passionate almost desperate kiss, his fingers making a quick job of Niall’s pants.

+

“You’re gorgeous, Niall, so gorgeous.”

“God, don’t look at me like that…” Niall whispers shyly as he feels exposed, completely naked under Zayn’s adoring gaze; he hides his face between his face, feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the pure _loving_ eyes Zayn is giving him and Niall doesn’t think he deserves one bit.

“Please, don’t hide your face, baby,” Zayn gently brushes Niall’s hand aside as he peers down at him with a fond smile; and Zayn strokes his cheek, leans down and kisses him sweetly and Niall has never felt so safe with in bed with another guy before.

Neither has he ever felt like crying at how perfect and careful and _lovely_ Zayn is when he opens him up, keeps gauging his face and asks if it’s alright, if it hurts, if he feels good; Niall can’t formulate a reply, so he just kisses him in response

+

Niall tries to relax when Zayn pushes into him inch by inch, but the burn overpowers anything else. “should I stop, baby?” Zayn cups his cheek, gazing down at him concerned, but Niall shakes his head, ”keep going,” he whispers.

He gasps for breath once Zayn is finally all the way in, writhing a little as he tries to adjust and Zayn gently kisses away tears, Niall hadn’t known was there and keeps whispering sweet nothings in his ear to soothe him. Niall tilts his face to the side and catches Zayn’s lips in a kiss.

He tells him to move once he’s ready, and Zayn begins moving in slow, steady thrusts until the pain fades away and is replaced by jolts and shots of pleasure. They rock against each other, Zayn holding Niall so close, so close until it’s too much and something snaps in lower abdomen and with a cry he’s coming undone, all over himself and Zayn, Zayn chokes following right after him and they fall against each other, sweaty, dirty and panting for breath.

“Wow,” Zayn mutters against his neck.

“Wow,” Niall repeats with wide, awed eyes.

+

Zayn stays for the night and securely wrapped in his arms, Niall feels safe and feels his eyelids heavy with sleep as he lets sweet darkness sweep him away for the first time in his new room.  
“Goodnight,” is the last he hears and a soft touch of lips against his temple before he falls asleep.

+

Per usual, Niall’s good luck always run out and by the end of the next day when he enters his room, he finds something that makes the books drop out of his hand and his blood run ice-cold in his veins.

On the wall, directly above his head is hanging a picture. A picture of him and Josh that he’s never seen before. Niall doesn’t know when exactly it was snapped, but they are sitting outside the café and are cuddled up together. Josh is staring at Niall with a soft smile and adoring eyes while Niall is looking at something in the distant. That picture captures what their relationship had been like; _Josh always looking at Niall like Niall was his whole world and Niall looking the other way_.

But isn’t what makes Niall’s blood freeze.

Someone has crossed their faces out with an angry red marker.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Next morning when Niall and Jordan are supposed to be at the morning service, they’re sneaking into one of the girls’ dormitory, through the empty hall, up to the fourth floor and directly into Stacy’s and her roommates’ room. After finding that picture, Niall knew he had to do something _soon_ before it was too late, because the message of the picture is obvious enough, it’s screaming a _you’re next_ on the top of its voice. The only reason he got any sleep was because he got Zayn to stay over again. (Niall smiles at the memory of Zayn holding him close and tight, his fingertips brushing against Niall's arm and soft lips pressing small, affectionate kisses against Niall's skin).

Niall isn’t sure what he’ll find in Stacy’s room as he grabs the door handle, glances at Jordan who gives him a small nod, before swinging it open. Stacy and her roommate's room are about thrice the size of his own, and they have made it cozy by draping colorful scarves across the ceiling to hide the ugly stucco. The walls are papered with full-size posters, magazine tear sheets, and framed photographs; not an inch of graying white paint peeks through anywhere. Their beds, pushed against opposite walls, are littered with throw pillows, and their desks stands back-to-back in front of the window so that they can both see out when they are studying. And so that they can't see each other and get distracted. Not a bad little system. Niall will have to remember that if he ever has a roommate again.

Okay. What is he doing? This is not an episode of Pimp My Dorm. They are here for information.

“Okay, we don’t have much time, let’s get to it,” Niall says as he takes a deep breath, steeling himself for the task ahed and next to him Jordan gives a firm nod though the serious expression on his face is quickly swept away by an excited grin - Niall rolls his eyes, this boy enjoys breaking into rooms a little too much, he thinks as he glances around. They identify Stacy's side of the room by a square frame holding a photo of her and what seems to be a younger sister, smiling and hugging.

Jordan begins to quickly sift through a short stack of papers next to her computer. And Niall gets to work on the dresser. He yanks open the first drawer of her desk. Nothing but pens, pencils, pads, and printer ink. The second drawer are all old notebooks, which he pages through quickly, finding nothing interesting other than a couple of doodled hearts with Stacy's and a guy named “George” names in them - Niall wonders which one of the countless boys she'd been parading around of it, this George guy is - he moves on to the bottom drawer - at what meets him, his breath hitches, heart beat escalating. He takes in a shaky breath and with quivering, clammy fingers, he reaches for the small, _painfully familiar_ bracelet. With shaking fingers, he holds it up before him and inspects it; it’s a leather-brown multistrap bracelet with an adjustable cord. 

_Josh's bracelet_

And just like that, Niall finds himself trapped in an onslaught of memories of Josh - _Josh mindlessly playing with the bracelet as he laughs carefreely at something ridiculous one of the boys did - Josh gazing at Niall, utter adoration and love in his eyes - Josh hugging Niall tight to him whispering in Niall's ear how much he means to him - Josh feeding Niall small pieces of chocolates - Josh pouting because Niall is going to be away in New York for a whole weekend_ \- Niall doesn't realize that silent tears are dropping from his eyes, warm as they trail down his cheek. Niall feels the grief and the loss, the dull pain in his chest turning sharp until he can barely breathe. _Josh_ , Niall wishes he'd given Josh what he deserved.

"Uhm, Niall?" Jordan calls, snapping Niall out of his memories and Niall takes a sharp intake of air, scrabbling to dry away the tears and get himself together. He looks toward Jordan with wide, puffy eyes and Jordan frowns worried at him, "You're gonna want to see this," he mutters as he points at something above Stacy's bed.

Niall's fingers tightenes around Josh's bracelet as he gets to his feet and walks over to Jordan to get a better look. When he sees it, his heart takes another unhealthly leap, a small gasp falling over his lips. 

It's a picture - a full-color, eight-by-ten picture of her and Louis; they look slightly younger, beaming happily at the camera. But that isn't what makes Niall's stomach turn with dread, no, it's the fact that Louis' face is angrily crossed out with an angry red marker, the exact same way Niall's and Josh's had been.

That’s it.

Josh's bracelet and now _this_? Niall knew it - Stacy Stone is the one - she's the murderer.

Niall's going to the police.

 

+

 

"I'm sorry, Niall. I don't really know what you think this proves," Detective Palmer grumbles in his every-tired voice as he slides Niall’s iPhone - a gift from his birthday, though he doesn’t know who it had been from - across the table to him. Niall had taken a picture of the photo in Stacy’s room with Louis’ face crossed out. Detective Palmer pushes up the sleeves of his drab, tan sweater and folds his arms on the table in front of his notebook.

Niall feels as if every muscle in his body has just atrophied all at once. He has to be kidding. First, the two officers at Hull Hall told him that Detective Palmer wouldn't be on campus today. So then Niall was forced to skip an entire morning of classes, sneak off campus, walk all the way over here in the freezing cold, and suffer on that cracked plastic chair in their saunalike waiting room for over an hour. All of that for the detective to just dismiss him? _Fuck no._

"I already told you," Niall says, sitting forward until his upper body is pressed against the edge of the table, his hands clasped in his lap. " Stacy herself explained to me how much she hates Privilege House and Louis. I found Josh’s bracelet in her dresser and then a picture of Louis’ face crossed out. and I’ve also told you that someone has been messing with me; sending me emails and switching my stuff with Josh’s. Stacy even tried to sabotage our fundraiser. She’s mad at Privilege House for her grandmother’s death. She killed Josh.”

"So she killed Josh because he was one of many who left her behind," The Detective repeats skeptically, leaning his elbow on the table and his chin on his hand, staring Niall down with an impatient frown. "That's not much of a motive."

"She killed Josh because she blames him and the other for her grandmother’s death!" Niall raises his voice in frustration, out-right glaring at the police-officer; he's tired of not being taken serious. “She has his _bracelet_! Last I saw him alive, he had it on! What else do you need!?” Niall voice trembles a little at the last words with barely held emotions.

The Detective takes a deep breath and glances toward the open doorway behind Niall, toward the hustle and bustle of the office, as if he is wishing he was out there rather than in here. 

"Listen, Niall, we've already talked to Stacy and she has an alibi for the night Josh was murdered." Detective Palmer pulls his notebook toward him and flips through it with narrowed eyes. "She was with George Parker all night and he corroborated her story."

"Who is this George guy anyway?” Niall says, running an aggravated hand through his hair and it doubtlessly looks like a bird nest by now - what with how much Niall had been tugging in it anxiously. “If he’s some kind of boyfriend then he’ll surely lie to protect her!”

Palmer looks at him with the expression of a man who is starting to get fed up with pandering to a whiny kindergartner. Niall wants to smack him across his tired, old face and beat some sense into him. Of course, he isn't going to assault a Police Officer, so instead, he angrily pulls out another photo, impatinely folding it out and more or less shoving it in the Detective's tired face.

“Look, that’s a picture of Josh and I - with our faces crossed out the exact same way,” Niall says fiercely as the Detective takes the picture out of Niall's hand and inspects it closely. “I found it hanging in my room.” Niall adds and while the Detective studies the photo, Niall grabs his iphone and shows the previous photo to the detective again.

“Do you think that this is some kind of crazy coincidence? I think not.” Niall states, voice stubborn and firm.

A tiny bit of the tension in Niall's rigid shoulder seeps out at the slightly interested, even _concerned_ look on Detective Palmer's face. Finally the fact that Niall is terrified for his own life has actually gotten through the man's skull - look at that, he has a heart after all, what a surprise. Niall seizes his moment as he presses against the table seperating them, leaning closer to the Detective and asks in a grave voice;

"Is that what you want, Detective? Do you really want another murder on your hands?"

Detective Palmer lifts his weary gaze to Niall's burning one, stares at him for a small moment before letting out a resigned sigh and slumping a little back in the chair.

"Crosby!" He shouts so loud that Niall jumps startled in his chair.

Almost instantly, a skinny guy in a blue uniform scrambles into the room. "Yes, Detective?"

"Grab an evidence bag and some gloves and get in here," Palmer orders. "I want this photo dusted for prints."

"Yes, sir!" Crosby replies.

Niall heart leaps in his chest, his shoulder sagging in relief and a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth. 

_Finally, this insanity will be over._

"We'll look into it," The Detective says, glancing at the picture on Niall’s iPhone once more. Glancing at it as if he doesn’t like what he sees - makes two of them. "I'm not guaranteeing anything, but we'll look into it."

 

+

 

By the time Niall gets back to campus after making a quick stop at the Hallmark store in town for some supplies to complete Zayn's gift, classes are over for the day. Students are streaming out of the cafeteria following lunch and loitering on the quad before heading to their dorms to start primping and dressing and finishing wrapping their presents. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. If Niall strolled back onto campus an hour earlier, he could have easily been snagged for skipping, but now he blends right in. 

He walks around the fountain and is about to walk back to his room, but stops up when he sees a horde of students gathered in the middle of the quad. At the center of the crowd is _Louis_ \- no surprise there.

Niall slows his steps, not wanting to appear too interested, but dying to know what is going on. Niall watches Louis hand a small white card to a girl with platinum blonde hair and she tosses her hair over her shoulder and with a flirtaous smile says something that makes Louis give a knowing smirk. Then Niall notices everyone walking away from the circle is clutching one of these cards, and those still in the circle seems to be clamoring for them. _What in the world is going on?_

“Niall!” A familiar voice calls and Niall just manages to whip towards the voice before he's engulfed in a tight, warm hug. Niall takes a deep intake, his nose filled with all of Zayn's different, _familiar, wonderful_ scents and Niall feels the last bit of tension seep out of his body as he happily sinks into Zayn's safe embrace; God, he has missed him even though they'd barely been a few hours apart.

Niall swallows down the whine in his throat when Zayn pulls away from the hug too fast, to look at him. 

“Niall,Where on earth have you been all morning? I was _dead_ worried!” Zayn chastises softly, his big amber eyes wide and Niall melts a little under Zayn's gaze; smiling foolishly at Zayn. Zayn's lip quriks up in a smile - he doubtlessly knows what effect he has on Niall - as he leans close into Niall and peers intensely to his eyes. "I though something might have happened to you," Zayn says, sighs a little and gently bumps his forehead against Niall's. "Don't scare me like that, baby," he says softly and before Niall can reply, Zayn cups his cheek and plants a sweet kiss on Niall's lips- it makes Niall's skin buzz pleasantly, all the way to his toes. Niall sighs happily into the warm kiss as he kisses back, feeling light like a breeze.

Once they pull away, Liam approached them, smiling stupidly at them. He comes to a halt next to them and beams, "you guys are so cute together," he cooes, a hand coming up and clapping Zayn's shoulder, giving him a discreet wink - Niall laughs, cheeks flushed and when he notices Zayn's adoring gaze, he looks down at his feet shyly.

It's then that he notices the that both Liam and Zayn are holding a small white card in their hands and everything else is swept away by Niall's ever-present curiousity. "What are those?" He tries to asks casually, lifting his gaze to Zayn's eyes and doesn't particular like the way Zayn exchange a wary look with Liam, before wordlessly handing Niall the white square.

With Zayn and Liam watching him, Niall scans the card and discovers it's an invitation; not any invitation.

_Louis' 18th Birthday_

"Oh,” Niall mutters, failing at keeping the dissappointment out of his voice as he feels his heart curl into a tight little ball inside of his chest; he isn't going to get invited, that much is clear. Of course, Liam and Zayn notices Niall's dropping mood and are quick to assure him;

“Don't worry about it, you're going to get invited, he'll get over it sooner than later," Liam says with a smile, giving Niall's back a comforting pat and Niall looks at him with big eyes, "Yeah?" he asks, voice doubtful and Zayn nods firmly.

“Yeah, this is his way of teaching you a ‘lesson’.” Zayn shakes his head as if he can't quite understand Louis' mindset; really, is there anyone in this whole, wide world that can understand the way Louis' Tomlinson's brain works? Niall suspects not even the world's most renowed brain-surgeons can crack the absurd complexity that is Louis' mind.

"He isn't going to give up on you yet," Zayn continues to say as he leans a little closer to Niall, "and if you aren't going, then I'm not going either - I rather stay with you." He says quietly, giving Niall a coy smile and Niall's heart expands with warmth, a grin breaking out on Niall's face: the fact that Zayn would rather stay with Niall in his inmate cell of a room instead of going to what doubtlessly will be _the party_ of the year, makes Niall feel so _loved_ and ridicolously happy.

Zayn smiles beautifully at him, leaning in to press a chaste kiss into Niall's mouth, but before he can, a body with a mop of curly hair pops up next to them.

"Hey, what's up," Harry chirps with a dimply grin, though the grin turns into a nervous, wide-eyed gaze when Zayn's face closes off completely, pointedly looking the opposite direction. Niall shifts nervously at the sudden unexpected tension; he'd thought Zayn had gotten over it, but alas, he'd been wrong.

Harry looks awkward, shifting on his feet and Liam - thank God for that boy - attempts to diffuse the sudden heavy air as he smiles kindly at the curly-haired pop star. "We were just talking about Louis’ birthday."

Harry nods slowly, turning his knowing gaze on Niall and explains; "He wants you to apologize." Niall frowns at the simple and almost careless way Harry says it. as if Niall hasn't tried again and again. He tells Harry that.“Well, I’ve tried, _multiply_ times, but he doesn’t listen, last I tried, I got a lacrosse ball in the face,” Niall mutters grumpily, hand subconsciously coming up and rubbing against his temple where Louis had assaulted him with that ball. He feels Zayn grab his hand and give him a small squeeze which makes Niall shoot the Prince a small smile.

“I don’t think he’s searching for an ordinary apology,” Harry shares with a small grin and Niall remembers that out of all of them, Harry is probably the one that understands Louis the best - compliments of sharing a room with Louis, Niall guesses . 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Niall asks with a confused frown, staring inquiringly at Harry, expecting him to give him some kind of straight answer - some tips from his _Louis' handbook_.

“Well, who knows?" Harry wonders, looking toward the sky before turning his gaze on Niall with a teasing smile, "I am sure you’ll figure something out. You’re smart,” Harry shoots Niall a cheeky wink, which causes Zayn to put a hand on Niall's smaller back and shoot Harry a whithering glare - and who knew Zayn could be _this_ possessive, it's kind of hot, Niall must admit - Harry cowers a little at the Prince's glare, before he rolls his eyes in a rather sassy manner that he could only have picked up from Louis - seems like he spends too much time with him.

"Take is easy Prince, I wasn't coming on to him," he says with a small indignant pout and Liam shakes his head with a fond smile, patting the younger boy gently on the back. Zayn merely lets out a small huff, before proceeding to ignore Harry all together.

Niall turns away from them, his gaze seeking Louis, Louis who's still the center of attention. Niall studies him laugh prettily at something a tall, skinny guy says and Niall ponders what it is Louis wants from him, because he feels like Louis is waiting for Niall to do something specific. Alright then, the school's golden boy doesn't want an ordinary apology? Niall will show him _extraordinary_ if that's what he's looking for.

+

“What!? Why didn’t you tell me sooner!” Zayn exclaims, gaping up at Niall who looks away from Zayn's burning gaze to play with a loose thread on his sweater, stalling a little for time; he is currently sitting on top of the Prince on the couch in the Art Cemetery and after they took a pause from a long, heated snog, Niall blurted out exactly where he'd been and _why_.

"Niall," Zayn says when the silence stretches on and Niall nibbles on his swollen lips, gaze flickering back on Zayn and really, he gets a little distracted; Niall has done a brilliant job of messing Zayn's usually _perfectly styled_ hair into a hot mess and his lips to a bright red - he looks so damn hot. Niall feels Zayn's impatience growing and he snaps out of it, giving a tiny shrug, "I don't know," he mutters as he looks back at Zayn, "I guess I just wanted to take care of it myself." 

“Take care of what yourself?” Zayn asks in an incredolous voice, his fingers around Niall's hip curls tight as Zayn leans closer.“There’s some kind of physcotic murderer running around on campus and you don’t tell me that someone is leaving pictures in your room. Don’t you get what this means? The psychopath was in _your room_ , Niall.” Zayn's eyes widens in alarm and worry, fingers brushing Niall's hand gently, "you could've ended up hurt...or worse," Zayn says quietly, sighing and pulling Niall into him, wrapping protective arms around him.

“Hey, it’s all good now - I'm alright,” Niall says against the crook of Zayn's neck, placing small assuring butterflies against Zayn's skin, his fingers running soothingly through the Prince's silky hair as he feels Zayn getting a bit upset; it makes Niall's heart flutter how much Zayn treasures him. He pulls away, meeting Zayn's kiss in a sweet kiss and they rest their foreheads together, just breathing each other's air and enjoying the intimitacy.

“I am sure the police are on their way to arrest Stacy right at the moment - all this is finally coming to an end.” Niall smiles as he pulls a little away from Zayn though the smile quickly falters when Zayn's features turn grim. Niall frowns confused, “What is it?”

Zayn doesn't reply immedietely, his jaw clenching a little as his eyes narrows at nothing in particular and a nervous feeling settles in Niall. "Zayn," Niall whispers, brushing his knuckles along Zayn's perfect jawline and Zayn looks at him. The prince gives a small sigh and says;

“To be honest, I don't think it's Stacy Stone."

Niall's mouth falls open as he stares at Zayn with incredolous eyes. “What?” He blurts in utter disbelief; "After everything I told you, you don’t believe me?” Niall feels dissappointed, he feels like out of everyone, Zayn should agree with him on this matter.

 

Zayn strokes his cheek gently, "Look, all I am saying is sure she has some grudge against all of us, but she doesn’t look capable of murder - I just have this strong gut-feeling you know?” Zayn says, and Niall is ready to tell him that whatever 'gut-feeling' he has, it's _wrong_ , but before Niall even gets the chance to open his mouth, he's interrupted by his phone beeping, indicating a new message. Niall fishes his phone out of his pockets, breath hitching when he sees the text Jordan has sent him;

“What is it?” Zayn frowns with concerned eyes, straining a little to get a look as well and Niall wordlessly turns the screen towards the Prince with a heat knocking rapidly against his chest. Zayn's eyes grows huge when he sees it as well;

_Jordan; Stacy just got arrested!!_

+

Later, early evening, Niall trudges back to his room after putting the final touches to Zayn’s gift. Niall hasn't felt this secure in the school, but now that Stacy is gone, he can breathe better. And while the whole school is going crazy with spreading rumors and gossip, Niall can't help but love it in an admitably twisted sense, because he _knows_ ; for once, he isn't the new, clueless kid and it feels fucking good. 

Stacy killed Josh. 

A shudder that has nothing to do with the cold weather wracks Niall's small body; the mere fact that he'd been standing so close and talked to a cold-blooded murderer, makes his blood run a little cold, that she's been so close to his _friends_ , to _Zayn_ and that she nearly suceeded in hurting not only Niall but Louis as well. 

Talking of Louis, now that he's cleared this problem out of the way, he can move on to the next important thing.

Planning his apology for Louis.

Niall is humming lightly under his breath as he opens the door to his room and walks in, closing the door behind him with the heel of his shoe. Then he has a mini heart-attack when he sees _who_ is sitting on his chair, waiting for him with crossed arms and a small smirk.

None other than Stacy Stone in all her glory - _Fucking Hell_. 

What the fuck is she doing here? She hadn’t been arrested for more than 3 hours. Did they just let her go?! Is this some kind of joke to them? Niall thinks frantically, staring at the girl with, shocked eyes, debating whether to make a dash for the door or not - because obviously, the girl has come to finish him off.

“Niall!"” Stacy says with fake joviality as she claps her hands together and gives Niall one big, fake smile. “You’re finally here.”

“What are you doing here?” Niall says, voice a tad breathless as he stares at the girl warily - half of him is genuinly waiting in apprehension for the moment she jumps up and drive a knife through his chest while cackling maniacally.

“Well, you and I are long overdue for a chat,” She replies as she gets to her feet and smoothes out her skirt, levels him with a hard glare - Niall inches a little toward to door. “I’ve heard that you think I killed Josh.”

“They told you I was the one who turned you in?” Niall gapes at her stunned; what the fuck is wrong with Palmer and his gang? How did they ever become Police Officers?

"No. Of course not. But the DC PD isn't exactly a crack outfit," Stacy says with sarcasm practically dripping from her voice. "I overheard at least five different people mention your name. So, what? Please tell me what you think would ever motivate me to kill Josh Devine.” She crosses her arms and glares expectantly at him.

Niall relaxes just a tiny bit at the fact that they had let her go and she wasn't escaped to brutally murder him for reporting her to the police. Alright then, he can breathe a little better now; though his fingers are trembling as he unbuttons his coat, avoiding Stacy's dark, narrowed eyes; stalling for time. Quite frankly, if Stacy isn't the one who has done it, then it just shoves Niall back to square fucking one; and now, what on earth is he supposed to say to this girl?

The truth. He decides that it's clearly time for the whole truth; enough of lies and deciet and half-truths.

Niall slowly slips his coat of his body and throws it hapharzadly on the bed, before finally facing a rather impatient looking Stacy. Niall feels a little uncomfortable at the few feet they're from each other, thanks to the ridicolous tight quaters.

"You're the one who told me how much you hated Privilege house," he explains, looking into Stacy's eyes. "It was so obvious that you blamed Louis, Josh and the others for your grandmother's death. I figured you finally got your revenge. Plus you're always talking about how Louis is going to get what's coming to him and how you're going to bring us all down. You threatened my friends right in front of me.” Niall rambles.

Stacy stares at him for a moment, before throwing her head back in her annoyingly familiar, _taunting_ laugh and shakes her head as if Niall is just _so_ naive and dumb. Niall's fingers curl into tight fists. "That's just talk, Niall." She says, tucking a stray of dark hair behind her ear.

"Yeah right," Niall snaps back, feeling a bit aggravated. "You have done a few sketchy things since I've known you, Stacy. Ostracizing Prescott from the Legacy, trying to take down our fundraiser. Come on. How was I supposed to know those threats were empty?" She actually appears to be pondering this. Seeing his point. She reaches over to his dresser and toys with one of the branches on the mini Christmas tree Zayn had gifted him, avoiding his gaze for a few moments.

"And I thought you were going for me or Louis next," Niall says quietly.

Stacy snorts a laugh and tips her head forward for a moment to look at the floor, her thick, long hair falling over her face, hiding her features with her next words; "I might hate Louis, but that doesn’t mean I would kill him. it doesn’t mean I’ll completely forget about ten years of friendship," She mutters in an unmistakably bitter voice, frowning a bit as she lifts her gaze to Niall's; "haven't you ever had a love-hate relationship?"

And well, if anyone else, Niall _understands_ that love-hate relationship, because he feels like that toward Louis as well; one moment, he's about sure knock his lacrosse stick against Louis' skull for being so evil, manipulative little bastard, and the next, he reminisces the highlights of their friendship, wishing he could have it back again. Yeah, he knows what Stacy is talking about, but he says nothing, remains quiet.

"So that's what you based this whole thing on?" She asks with a raised brow, lifting her pointy shoulders. "A couple of stupid pranks I pulled and some story I told you the other day?”

Niall's heart quivers nervously. Here it is. The moment of truth.

"No. That wasn't all," He admits as he leans against his desk chair, bracing himself for what's to doubtlessly come. "I kind of snuck into your room and found Josh’s bracelet and then photo of you and Louis with only Louis’ face crossed out.” Niall rushes through the words, as if Stacy isn't going to comprehend them, though of course she does and she fixes with a dangerous, blazing glare.

Gulp. 

"You went through my stuff"!?" Stacy shouts so loud that Niall jumps a little, her cheeks flushes red with anger and she presses her hands on top of her head as if she are trying to keep her brain from possibly exploding; alright, maybe it's time for Niall to safe his own skin. "Oh my God. Forget Louis. I might just have to kill _you_!"

“What!? So you took that bracelet or what?!” Niall says, beyond confused.

“God, _no!_!” Stacy hisses through clenched teeth. 

Oh. Well, fuck. Niall would never have thought Stacy fucking Stone would make him feel guilty.

"Stacy, you've gotta understand," Niall gives her a wide-eyed look and absolutely _hates_ that he sounds desperate. He cannot believe that he has been put in the position of begging for forgiveness from this girl. It is like the whole world has been turned upside down. But she is right. He has totally violated her privacy. And for no fucking good reason, it turns out. "I thought you had been in my room before!” Niall defends himself.

"Doing what? Stalking you?" She asks, breathless, before she suddenly stares at a point over Niall's shoulder, gaze distant as if processing something. " _Omigod_ , that's why they were asking me all those questions about you and your room and your e-mail." She closes her eyes and shakes her head. "They kept showing me this picture of you and Josh with your faces crossed out like the one they found in my room. I was so confused."

"That picture showed up on the wall yesterday, so when you had one just like it in your room, I thought... I thought you were trying to send a message or something." Niall mutters unsure - if not Stacy, then it means that the murderer is still out there, somewhere, just waiting to strike when they least expect it.

Stacy glares at him, her black eyes sharp. "I don't know who messed with my photo or yours," She states. "But it wasn't me. And I didn’t take that bracelet! I don’t even know what you’re talking about!"

"I gather that much now," Niall says and lets out a frustrated breath as he drops down on the edge of his bed, resting his face in his hands and his elbpows on his knees."I was so sure it was over." he says with clear dissappointment in his voice and in turn, recieves a burning glare from Stacy, "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint," Stacy replies sardonically. "But I'm not a murderer or a stalker."

"Then who?" Niall ponders, turning his gaze out of the window into the dark night for a second before he looks at Stacy, his back hunching in sheer exhaustion; he can't believe he's been running around all day trying to put an innocent girl behind closed bars while the murderer doubtlessly was watching him, cackling sinisterly. "Who the hell killed Josh? Who's doing all this?" Niall says in a small, tired voice.

Stacy shoots him a look like it was so completely obvious. She inspects her nails, "Oh, I don't know... Louis?" She says with a light shrug and Niall's face snaps toward her so fast, the muscles in his neck scream in protest, staring at her in complete shock.

“Are you fucking serious?” He says incredolously; he knows she doesn't like Louis, but accusing him of murder is a little too far-fetched. 

“Why not? He’s insane and who knows what’s going on inside that _big_ head of his?” Stacy says disdainfully and it's so very obvious that she doesn't fully believe it. “He’s evil.”

"He’s not evil, just powerful," Niall hears himself say; fucking hell, Louis could throw him into a pit full of flesh-eating chiuauas and Niall would still defend him. "There's a difference."

Stacy rolls her eyes and scoffs. "You really need to open your eyes and see him for what he is, Niall. This whole loyalty thing is pretty pathetic at this point." She gestures around his crappy room to remind how exactly he ended up here and Niall feels his face heat up; he quickly looks away from her gaze.

"Whether I'm pathetic or not, Louis was with Zayn and I the night Josh was murdered,” Niall replies sharply; “So drop it already.”

"No way," Stacy mutters with unhidden dissappointment and Niall rolls his eyes as he replies with a firm; "Way."

"Dammit," She says under her breath and Niall shakes his head as he muses; "

"I can't believe we're having this conversation." Niall shakes his head.

She looks at him and smirks. "Yeah. Neither can I." She takes in a breath and let it out audibly, then stands up straight. "Well, if it wasn't Louis, and it wasn't me," She says facetiously, holding her hands up to her chest, "then who the hell was it?”

“Good question,” Niall mutters with a deep frown; he feels like they’re grasping at straws and it's deeply frustrating. 

"I've looked into a few people, but I'm at a serious disadvantage since I wasn't here last year," Stacy says, strolling the two steps to peer into his broken closet and Niall's gaze snaps to her, eyes a bit wide at the unexpected surprise. "I don't really know who he was hanging out with... who he was dating...."

"I know someone who could fill in some of the blanks there," Niall says, thinking of Jordan; he'd been here since his freshman year and Niall is sure Jordan can help them with the missing information.

Stacy turns to him, eyebrows raised. "That ginger friend of yours?"

“Yeah,” Niall nods as he feels a slight surge of excitement-tentative excitement-and stands upright. "And you could fill in the blanks from the years before," He says slowly. "Anyone who might be holding a long grudge. People I don't even know about. After all he was a pusher. It’s very likely that it would be some of his former drug buddies." Niall chases away the mental images that brings - he has to focus right now.

Then follows a long moment where Niall and Stacy eyes each other, neither of them willing to make the next move. Just looking at her, Niall is still having trouble wrapping his brain around the fact that she isn’t the enemy. 

Stacy Stone is innocent and a victim, just like himself.

"Do you think you could do it? " Stacy asks finally, squaring off with him. "Do you think you could work with me? After all I’m not Louis’ favorite person, and you seem to be keen on impressing him. "

Right. But this is so much more important than what Louis thinks.

"If it puts an end to all this crap, then yes,” He replies with a firm nods and adds with a wry smile; "Two heads are better than one, right?"

After the briefest hesitation, Stacy sticks out her slim white hand. "So they say." She says, returning Niall's smile with one of her owns. Niall takes her smaller hand in his, subconsciously noting how soft it is and as they shake on it, a strong part of him can't help but feel as if he is making a pact with the _devil_. But then, the devil will probably have ways of getting things done that he can never even dream of. Maybe a marriage of good and evil is exactly what they need to figure this thing out. 

Before their murderer decides it is time to get rid of them - _for good_.

And after all, all Niall needs to complete his absurdly insane and chaotic life is a frenemy, right?

_Right._


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the last chapter! x
> 
> Big thanks to Mandy for proof-reading it. <3

Chapter 23

After finishing up his morning classes, Niall meets up with Jordan and Stacy in the far back of the library building, safely tucked away from curious eyes and gossip-hungry rich teens; Niall had to do a little convincing regarding Jordan as the boy said he didn't _trust_ Stacy- though, eventually, he did agree to work with her.

“I brought my list of suspects,” Stacy informs them when they've huddled around a small round table and she yanks a piece of paper out of her black and white tweed bag. She slides it towards Niall and he grabs it, studying the paper closely while Jordan looks over his shoulder with curious eyes. It's well worn with notes in the margin and a coffee stain at the top. Clearly she has been working on this better than Niall himself- which once again, is quite surprising. What else is surprising, is that Niall recognizes several of his former dorm mates on her list, his brows jumping high under his hair-line when he sees the names: Louis - which she had crossed out - Jeremy, Linh and... _Liam_?

“Liam?! _Really_?” Niall says as he tears his incredulous gaze from the paper, directing it toward Stacy instead, “What would his motive be? What would the motive ofany of these people be?”

Stacy sips at her steaming cappuccino before meeting Niall's gaze, “Jeremy was Josh's roommate - everyone gets into a row with their roommate, who knows if one of those spats went a bit too far and Jeremy decided it would be easier to just get _rid_ of Josh?” she explains coolly, before licking her lips and continuing, “And as for Linh? Well, he’s Jeremy’s best friend which is quite self-explanatory as to how he could be in cahoots if Jeremy indeed needed an alibi or whatnot- and Liam, well... he’s just too nice to be true,” she says lightly, tucking her hair behind her ear, revealing a huge, round earring; Niall gets a bit distracted by it, before pulling himself together.

“I’m sure they all have alibis,” he says firmly - he simply refuses to believe that the murderer had lived under the very same roof as himself. Stacy opens her mouth with an annoyed expression, but before she can say anything, Niall turns to Jordan who'd been unusually quiet - considering the boy _lived_ for these kind of mysterious, suspenseful situations, "Jordan, can you fill us in on the past year?" Niall asks, gently nudging the redhead in his side.

Jordan’s gaze flickers around as he shrugs a little, eyes falling on Niall, “I don’t know if we have to go back to last year, I mean, what about _Whit_?” Jordan asks, shooting Niall a meaningful look that makes the blood rush to his cheeks.

“What _about_ Whit?” Niall asks warily as he tries to chase away the rather embarrassing and disturbing memories of the large, intimidating guy.

“Yeah, what about him?” Stacy repeats the question, her thin eyebrow lifting in intrigued interest - she has obviously picked up on Niall's squirming and blushing.

“It’s just, he was really into you wasn’t he? And then you pretended to date Josh; he must have been heartbroken and pissed,” Jordan says, his grey-brown eyes boring into Niall's wide-eyed gaze. It does makes sense, to some extent at least, while Niall doesn't believe that Whit would go as far as to _murder _Josh for a stupid, thoughtless scheme, but then again, Niall doesn't know what the guy is capable of; he swallows heavily as the thought of Jordan’s newest suspect swirls unpleasantly in his belly.__

__“Ohhh! A _love_ \- murder mystery, that’s more like it!” Stacy exclaims with a fucking _grin_ as if she's actually _enjoying_ this and Niall can't help but shoot her a disturbed look which she counters with twinkling eyes and a mischievous smirk; seriously, is there something wrong with _every_ single rich kid in this Godforsaken school?_ _

__“Wait, guys, I don’t think Whit did it - I mean, sure Josh and I fooled him, but it'd be a little too drastic of measures to take, right?" Niall nibbles his lip anxiously, gaze flickering from Jordan to Stacy, "Besides, Whit seems too mellow and calm a guy to do something like… _that,_ " Niall insists, looking down at his hands. _ _

__“Isn’t it always the ones you least expect?” Jordan says, shooting Niall a wry smile, which makes Niall frown; he _doesn't_ want the murderer to be anyone inside of his immediate circle- it'd be too much to handle._ _

__“I’m adding him,” Stacy says as she pulls the paper to her, quickly scribbling Whit's name down, “So, who did Josh date last year?” she questions, lifting her dark eyes from the paper and settling her gaze expectantly on Jordan._ _

__Jordan purses his lips a little, tapping a finger against his chin thoughtfully, “I wasn’t exactly _friends_ with him,” he mutters with a frown, “but he dated a lot of girls throughout the year. Honestly, I don’t think I can recall every single one,” Jordan says, with an unhelpful shrug._ _

__“What about out of the school? He used to sell drugs, right? What about his druggie friends?” Niall peers at Jordan, silently begging him to try harder. Jordan looks thoughtful as he reaches for his own warm drink, taking a tentative sip._ _

__“Hmm… what if he had a girlfriend, like a druggie girlfriend he got high off his ass with and he dumped her in favor of being with you, Niall, so she killed him and now she’s after you?” Stacy says as she looks at Niall, apparently too impatient to wait for Jordan - Jordan who suddenly chokes on his coffee._ _

__“Sorry,” the boy mutters, a blush flushing his pale cheek and coughs a little, heaving for air. Concerned, Niall rubs the boy's back in soothing circle and looks back at Stacy._ _

__“I feel like we are just throwing around theories here. We need to ask someone else," Niall says reluctantly, his shoulders sagging a little; he doesn't know what he'd expected to come out of this. Of course, he’d been hoping that they'd immediately get some kind of lead they could follow, so he's quite disappointed that they'll have to ask someone else for information. But the situation calls for it and the other two agree._ _

__“Fine, then ask your Prince Charming," Stacy says with a teasing smirk, "And _I'll_ go and figure out more about his former roommate,” she adds with a hard, determined gaze as she begins to get up from her chair._ _

__“I’ll check out Whit,” Jordan says as he finally gets control of his air pipes and runs a hand through his red locks. He too, quickly gets to his feet and Niall stands up as well, gaze travelling from Jordan to Stacy as they all share a look of silent agreement._ _

__"Alright then," Niall says dismissively, gathering book and reaching for his drink which has unfortunately turned lukewarm- he'd have to get a new one, "Let's text each other if we find out about anything, Stacy, give us your number," he says as an afterthought, because having the girl’s number would be helpful since they were apparently _allies_ now._ _

__They quickly exchange phone number before parting ways to their respective tasks - they need _something_ and _fast_ before this evening's Prescott Christmas Dinner._ _

__+_ _

__“Why are you so interested in who Josh used to date?” Liam asks as he studies Niall with soft, concerned puppy eyes; Niall can't blame Liam for giving him that look like Niall isn't quite alright. Niall shrugs as he sips on his cinnamon latté, trying to appear nonchalant as he once again, throws a glance toward the entrance. He'd managed to find Liam alone, but Niall doesn't know for how long it'll last before the others join. The reason Niall hadn't gone straight to Zayn was because he would demand to know why Niall is searching for such information and refuse to tell him anything, most likely watching over Niall with hawk-eyes._ _

__Niall adores that Zayn is so _protective_ \- it makes Niall giddy with happiness - but right now is not the time Niall wants or need that protection._ _

__“I dunno… just curious,” Niall shrugs, giving Liam his innocent, wide-eyed look - the look that Zayn has told him no one can resist – and right now, Niall hopes the Prince is right. He’s really trying to keep the urgent impatience from seeping into his voice; he doesn't want Liam to get any suspicion, least he mentions it to Zayn._ _

__“You think they killed him?” Liam asks with big eyes and, well, it seems like Liam has seen right through him - though he doesn't need to know what Niall is using that information for._ _

__Niall shrugs his shoulders a little, "Maybe," he mutters._ _

__Liam is thoughtful for a moment and Niall waits while trying not to bite his nails in sheer anxiety; he _needs_ Liam to come through, or else he'll have to seek another solution, which will take time - which they don't have much of. Niall's thoughts float a little as he wonders what the murderer is doing right at the moment - most probably sitting in some huge, villain chair with an evil, maniac grin, enjoying watching Niall run around for clues._ _

__“Melissa James,” Liam's voice snaps Niall back into reality and it takes him a moment or two to process what Liam just said and as he does that, Liam adds in a quieter tone, “He used to date her just before last summer vacation.”_ _

__And that's all Niall needs from Liam; he fights down the grin as he feels Liam scrutinizing him with his gaze, as he gets to his feet. He ignores Liam's questioning eyes and turns on his heels, pulling his phone out and shoots Stacy and Jordan a text with Melissa's name._ _

__They’re going to pay Melissa James a little _visit_._ _

__+_ _

  
Stacy: Found her address! We’ll sneak out during the dinner!  
Jordan: cool with me  
Niall: meet up behind Gwendolyn Hall  
  
+

“Niall, you look gorgeous," Zayn says, his adoring amber eyes and loveable smile makes the heat crawl up Niall's neck and settle in his cheeks, hot and heavy. Niall has just walked through the doors of the dining hall, accompanied by Hunter and a few other dorm mates from Drake House. Zayn gives Hunter a short, uninterested look as the Prince steps forward to peck Niall on the lips. Niall smiles shyly back at Zayn's fond look.

“Thanks, you don’t look half-bad yourself,” Niall replies as he looks over Zayn and if Zayn doesn’t look every bit of the _flawless_ Prince that he is in his tux, "Actually, you look unfairly hot and _perfect_ ," Niall corrects himself, lifting his gaze to Zayn's intense eyes. Zayn gives him that smile where his nose does the _cutest_ thing and scrunches up, thus causing Niall's heart to do a fluttering thing which _can't_ be healthy. Niall barely hears Hunter excuse himself - undoubtedly feeling like an intruder - as he's too caught up in this perfect specimen of a human being, the best part? He's all _Niall's._

"Come on, babe," Zayn says, putting a hand on the small of Niall's back as they walk further into the room and Niall gawks like an idiot at the completely unrecognizable dining hall. Just then, Liam - who also looks handsome - joins them with a bright smile, "Guys, they've really done a brilliant job," Liam voices Niall's thoughts out loud as he looks around with admiring eyes.

"It is pretty spectacular," Niall admits with unhidden wonder in his sparkling eyes. On every single of the dinning hall's many windows, hangs a real fir wreath decorated with pine-cones and small, cute red ribbons, and real evergreen swags are draped along the walls, strung with white lights as well, filling the room with the comforting scent of fresh pine.

All the chairs are covered in green velvet and secured with huge, red bows, and at each China plate setting is a small favor of Godiva chocolate, presented in a little red sleigh.

There is a tremendous Christmas tree in the center of the room. The star at the top nearly brushes the panes of the skylight, and every sparkling ornament on the tree is perfectly placed. White lights twinkles and winks from its boughs, and the garland is made of hand-strung popcorn and cranberries.

But the _real_ main attraction are the clothes; if there's one thing that nobody can do better than the students of Prescott, it's playing dress up. These privileged, rich kids definitely know how to clean up nicely. Everywhere he looks, Niall spies velvet frocks and pearls, wrist-length gloves and kitten heels, tuxes and silk scarves. It is one big live-action fashion show. Even the flasks the guys are hiding in the pockets of their jackets look wicked; monogrammed or platinum or leather or, in _Liam's_ case, Gucci.

Niall lifts an amused brow as he watches Liam sneakily spice his punch with some expensive brown liquor. Liam feels Niall's eyes on him and turns to give him a wide-eyed look of faux innocence, "Want some?" he asks with a sweet smile - whoever said Liam was the most innocent? What a joke - Niall shakes his head with a laugh; he's going to need a crystal-clear head for what he'll be doing later this evening, so no alcohol for him.

"Do you think the garland is real?" Niall asks curiously, eyeing the popcorn and cranberries.

"It is. I already checked," Harry’s voice is unexpected as he practically materializes next to them with the ever-present cheeky, dimply smile and a ridiculous white button-up with small, black butterflies all over; only _Harry Styles_ would get away with wearing something so ridiculous and make it work.

"How did you check?" Niall asks as Harry pops an hors d'oeuvre into his mouth and Niall eyes the drink in Harry's hand- which seems to be about 90% alcohol and 10% punch. For God's sake, couldn't the little idiot be just a tad more discreet?

"I ate a kernel," He says with a stupidly _endearing_ grin that makes Liam and Niall laugh, Liam fondly reaching over and ruffling up in the pop star's curls. Meanwhile Zayn looks rather grumpy at Harry's presence, Niall shoots the Prince a wary look - he _really_ hopes Zayn gets over it soon; it's in the past after all.

Speaking of building a bridge and getting the fuck over it; Niall's gaze darts around the large room in search of one particular boy. It doesn't take long for Niall to find him - _Louis_ \- really not that hard, considering the guy is as always surrounded by an adoring crowd. Niall watches Louis stand at the center of attention, looking undeniably hot - especially with that new messy hairdo he's sporting - only Louis Tomlinson would get away with wearing a slightly rumpled dress-shirt under a navy blazer and he’s wearing suspenders, and Niall has to admit, it does wonders for his bum; Niall’s gaze might or might not linger for longer than necessary. He's talking, telling a story that makes everyone laugh as they drink up his every word like it's fucking _gold_ and Louis very well knows the affect he has on people- very well knows that every single person in this room admires him.

And suddenly, Louis' gaze turns from his adoring fans to look _directly_ into Niall's eyes - as if he'd known he'd been watching - and Niall's face flushes burning red at being caught blatantly staring. Normally, Niall thinks Louis would've shot him a teasing smile and mischievous eyes, but this time, he gives Niall a quick, bored look before turning away dismissively as if Niall just isn't worth his oh, so _precious_ attention.

It makes Niall reconsider what he'll do later tonight - it also makes his stomach twist into tight nervous knots.

“Who are you gifting, Niall?” Liam asks, bringing Niall's attention back to the boys he's standing with and as he looks around at their curious faces, he can't help but be grateful for having gotten them back. Niall gives a teasing smile as he brings his drink to his lips, careful not to look at Zayn as he sings playfully, "I will never tell." He knows that once Zayn opens his present, he will _know_ it’s from him.

"Oh, come on!” Harry says with a disappointed pout, his fingers reaching to maybe pull Niall's hair or something, but before he can, Zayn gives Harry a dangerous look that makes the poor boy falter. Harry laughs nervously, backing a little away from the Prince as if he's afraid Zayn will punch him.

"I think I'll go find Louis and see what he's up to," Harry says uneasily, avoiding looking at Zayn as he dips his head and hurries away to join his boyfriend and Niall shoots Zayn a disapproving frown. Zayn returns it with a stubborn gaze. Niall is about to talk to Zayn, tell him to drop the hostility toward Harry, Niall knows the curly-haired boy enough to know that deep down, it's probably hurting him, but before he can open his mouth, a sudden tinkle of silver bells brings the conversation in the room to a complete halt and Headmistress Jensen steps up in front of the tree.

Niall notices she looks happier than what she’s seemed in _weeks_ ; after seeing the ever-present distressed, grim expression etched into her features, caused by the last couple of weeks’ unfortunate events, Niall had begun forgetting how Mrs. Jensen looked with a genuine smile on her lips. Headmistress Jensen looks beautiful in a simple, classy dress - the first time Niall has seen her in a dress.

"If everyone will take your seats, the first course is about to be served," she announces with the proud air of someone who is pulling off the event of the season.

"I'll see you guys later," Niall says even though he has other than festive plans for this evening, Liam nods and gives Niall a quick hug before walking to the Privilege House table.

"See you, baby," Zayn plants a lingering kiss on Niall's lips and strokes Niall's chin with a playful smile, before he follows Liam. Niall catches himself studying Zayn's little bum that looks perkier in his tight suit pants and then Niall automatically chastises himself for being a _horny, hormone-crazed pervert_ , that is until he remembers that this is _Zayn's_ ass, which belongs to _Niall_ ; so he can admire it as much as he fucking pleases.

With a huge, satisfied grin, Niall turns and walks to the Drake House table.

+

"So I just want to say _'Hells, yeah'_ to the members of the men's soccer team!" Liam slurs, gesturing so vehemently with his right hand that his sparkling cider sloshes over the side of the glass in his left. "Thanks for the most kick-ass senior season ever!" Liam shouts with bright eyes, shoving his glass in the air with a huge, silly grin that threatens to split his face in half.

Niall can't help but laugh loudly at the rather amusing display while the members of the team, peppered throughout the room, go wild, hooting and hollering, before everyone else joins in, cheering for Liam's toast as he downs his drink in one, long gulp. Headmistress Jensen, however, doesn’t look impressed in the least.

"Thank you, Mr. Payne," she says in a clipped tone as she steps behind Liam's slightly swaying frame and clamps a hand on the boy's shoulder, steadying him, "That was very eloquent," she adds, sarcasm bleeding from her unpleased voice and Niall muffles his snickers behind his hand.

Liam glances at the headmistress with wide puppy eyes and a pouty mouth, expression chagrined as he ungracefully drops down on his chair. Around the table, the other Privilege House kids are all trying to keep their laughter to a minimum - seeing as Mrs. Jensen is still hovering over them - and Louis, who sits right across from Liam shakes his head and smirks amused; the speech is kind of out of character for one of the most mature guys on campus - the school body president _and_ the team captain of the football team - Niall reckons that's what happens when you get carried away spicing your drink with expensive liquor from even more expensive flasks. Liam could be so full of unexpected surprises.

"And now, moving on to Drake House..." Mrs. Jensen says as she steps up to the end of the table where the Drake boys are located. Niall's breath catches in his throat, his heart instantly thrashing at a psychotic pace, body temperature going through the roof; _fuckfuckfuck_ , Niall thinks, nibbling his lip anxiously, because he knows it's now or _never_ , "Would any of the Drake gentlemen care to make a toast?"

Niall had originally planned to let someone else go first but as everyone at the table glances around with big, unprepared eyes, it becomes painfully clear that no one has any intention of saying anything. Niall supposes the boys of Drake aren't exactly part the extroverted crowd- quite the polar opposite of the Privilege House kids, actually. Niall glances uneasily at Mrs. Jensen who's pursuing her lips in annoyance and then Niall finds himself raising a slightly shaky hand.

"I have something to say," he says in a surprisingly clear and loud voice, considering that he's quickly freaking out on the inside. Instantly, murmurs spring up at all the surrounding tables and quickly spread the length and breadth of the room, but the chatter seems minuscule because all Niall can hear is the obnoxiously loud thudding of his heart in his ears.

Niall blocks out the countless number of eyes focused on him, looking at the headmistress, who surprisingly enough, doesn't look pleased that Drake House isn't going to completely back down. Actually, her face clouds a bit over, eyes narrowing a tad and well, Niall knows he hasn't exactly been her favorite person for the past weeks - what with the amount of times he'd landed in her office - but can't the woman be a little supportive here, seeing as literally everyone else is pretty much glaring at him? _God_.

"Fine, then," she says, doesn’t even bother to hide the reluctance in her voice as she lifts her chin and announces to the room, "Mr. Horan would like to make a toast!"

The level of buzz in the room grows as he awkwardly pushes his chair back and stands. _This is it_ \- his big, brilliant win-Louis-back plan. He publicly humiliated him with the Harry video. The only way he can think of to make up for it is to publicly praise him. He can’t call that an ordinary apology, now can he?

Niall hopes not.

His knees are quaking like a Jell-O mold in an earthquake, and for the first time, he is annoyed with himself for not bringing his notes along. He had thought it would be more sincere if he speaks from the heart, without the aid of index cards, but now that he can see the disapproving faces at the Privilege table, he can’t for the life of him remember what on earth he’d planned to say.

 _Fuck_.

His heart pounds quick and shallow, sweat forming on his brow; every single person here is against him - well almost everyone - he can’t do this; Niall feels the anxiety overtaking him- turning all of his self-confidence to crushing self-doubt. What is he thinking? In about two seconds people are going to start hurling half-eaten rolls at him.

Niall catches eyes with Zayn as he seeks some encouragement, and Zayn just looks back with big, worried eyes- then Niall dares to look at Louis. Louis is watching him with an amused smirk, eyes interested as he crooks an arm over the back of his chair. _This is for him_. Niall has to remember that. This is all for him.

"I would like to toast Louis Tomlinson," he announces in a loud, clear voice.

That really gets the room going as chairs squeak, people laugh, and incredulous voices fills the room. Niall sweats; how is he ever going to get them to shut the hell up? He finds himself glancing at Jordan helplessly, though Jordan is just gaping at him, mouth hanging open in total shock. Faces swim before Niall’s eyes before they find Stacy in the crowd, she looks at him before shaking her head, like she just can’t believe what she sees; most certainly finds him pathetic.

Nobody seems to condone what he’s doing. _Great_.

"Excuse me!" Mrs. Jensen shouts over the noise, "I expect the same silence and courtesy for each and every one of your schoolmates!"

A hush falls over the cafeteria; an energized, anticipatory hush, but a hush nonetheless. Louis slowly reaches for his water glass, without taking his eyes off Niall and takes a nonchalant sip before replacing it on the tablecloth. He then proceeds to give Niall his full attention, tilting his face slightly to the side, brow raised. And Niall can just imagine what he’s thinking:

_This should be interesting._

Niall clears his throat a little awkwardly, trying to focus on Louis’ face.

"As many of you... well, all of you, know, this has been a rather insane and traumatic semester for me. For a lot of us," he begins, his voice for the most part clear and loud, "there has been a lot of grief, a lot of upheaval, a lot of rumors-some very true, some very false," he continues as the words of his preplanned speech begin coming back to him in a rush, "but I'm not here to defend myself. I’m here to say that I would never have gotten through any of it without the friendship of Louis Tomlinson."

Louis shifts in his seat ever so slightly, though his eyes are completely unreadable, but Niall has to get through to him. _He has to_. 

"Louis is a true friend. He is someone who always has your back. Someone who will do anything for you if you need him. Someone who is creative and good and kind..." Niall trails off-

 _but he can be one evil, manipulative liar when he wants to_ , he thinks mentally, but of course, he doesn’t say it out loud; he doesn’t fancy an early death.

At this point Niall is looking Louis right in the eye. His palms are sweating so badly he is afraid he is going to drop his champagne flute, but he presses on.

"And I'm sorry if I forgot all that for a few stupid minutes. I'm sorry to have thrown away something so precious to me, over something so shallow; a friendship that could have lasted my whole life, over something so fleeting."

From the corner of his eye, Niall can see Harry gaping at him, clearly shocked, but he’ll get over it. Everyone else at the Privilege House table are either gaping at him or at Louis. But the two of them simply stare at each other.

"So here's to Louis Tomlinson," Niall says, raising his glass. "A true asset to Privilege house, a true asset to Prescott, and the true friend I hope will forgive me someday."

There is a prolonged moment of silence. Niall thinks everyone is so stunned they forgot where they are.

"To Louis Tomlinson!" Mrs. Jensen announces finally, raising her glass. Not so much to save him, Niall is sure, but to save her ceremony.

"Louis Tomlinson!" the room echoes.

They all sip their drinks and Niall stands there, waiting for a reaction from Louis- waiting for _any_ kind of sign. Though, Louis simply sips his sparkling cider and looks at Niall as if he is seeing him for the first time. Then he finally turns back to his table, turning his shoulder to him. That is it. No smirk. No nod. Nothing. Niall drops back on his chair, exhausted, and places his glass back down on the table. He feels numb all over. As if his own skin, his muscles, his bones, has all turned to dust.

"Damn, Niall. That took guts," Hunter says in his ear.

"But it wasn't enough," Niall says quietly, the realization seeping into his veins like poison, "Nothing's ever going to be enough."

+

After Louis’ lack of reaction to his speech, all Niall really wants to do is retreat to his room and sleep - he doesn’t even have the energy to spy on a potential murderous ex-girlfriend - but Mrs. Jensen has made it clear this is a mandatory event, so he is in it for the long haul; until he gets a signal from Jordan and Stacy so they can sneak out. 

He sits through coffee and dessert without touching a thing, but no one notices his dejected state; except Zayn who keeps shooting him concerned looks, but Niall doesn’t even have the energy to give him a reassuring smile. 

Once a few polite bites have been taken, the student body gets down to real business of the night - hunting for their gifts. Once a few sophomore girls get up and venture tentatively toward the tree, half the room is out of their seats and clamoring for their presents.

"Niall? Aren't you coming?" Hunter asks as he pushes his chair in and gives Niall a concerned look.

"Nah. I think I'll wait out the rush," Niall says with a half-smile, but in truth, he’s just terrified to find his gift. Aside from a very select few, most of the people on this campus have been shunning him for days. What if whoever had drawn his name had gotten him some kind of gag gift? Like a box full of coal or a dead rat or something. Niall isn’t sure he can handle that.

He fully intends on sitting back and watching everyone else, when there’s a sudden warm mouth against his cheek, planting a sweet kiss there. Niall’s heart flutters as he tilts his face and is met with Zayn’s warm eyes. 

“Hey, babe, are you alright?” Zayn asks concerned, moving to stand in front of Niall. Niall forces a smile upon his lips as he ungracefully pushes himself to his feet, “I’m alright,” he lies.

Zayn studies him closely and Niall gets busy looking anywhere but at Zayn, though a warm hand cupping his cheek makes him look into Zayn’s eyes; to Niall’s surprise, they’re narrowed a bit.

“Fuck him,” he says fiercely, “he doesn’t even deserve you apologizing like this, babe, so _fuck him_ , forget about him, you don’t need him.”

Niall’s eyes go a bit wide in stunned surprise. Never would he have thought that Zayn would say that and in all honesty, Niall couldn’t disagree more with Zayn; he needs Louis by his side. He wouldn’t have gone through all of that if he found Louis’ friendship replaceable. Louis has sneaked under his skin, weaseled his way into his heart and made a permanent spot which has been nothing but an empty void since the dreadful fundraiser; a void Niall has felt for the last week, a void nobody else can fill. 

And Niall won’t be surprised if this has been a planned, well-executed strategy of Louis’ all along: to make sure Niall would always feel like he needed Louis in his life- _that manipulative bastard_.

In fear that he’ll sound pathetic or that he’ll disappoint Zayn, he doesn’t say any of that- he just smiles tightly, “Go find your gifts,” he says in an attempt to change the subject and Zayn frowns, but doesn’t say anything, “Let’s find them together,” he offers, taking Niall’s hand in his but Niall quickly shakes out of his grasp.

“I need to use the toilet; I’ll be right back- you go find your gift,” Niall insists, silencing Zayn’s protests with a quick kiss before turning on his heel and walking toward the restrooms; even the excitement of seeing Zayn’s reaction to his gift has fizzled away.

When Niall is done emptying his bladder, he’s more or less ambushed by Harry just outside the restroom door. He yelps when Harry jumps on him with a loud cry of his name, “ _Niaaaaaaall_!” he wraps his long limbs around Niall and Niall yelps surprised, nearly falling over at the impact.

“Harry, what the fuck! Get off!” Niall struggles out of Harry’s bruising grip, smacking the boy away from him, but Harry just grins hugely, green eyes sparkling.

“For you!” Harry bites down his red lip and with a ridiculously giddy expression, he hands him an envelope with his name written across it. Niall’s heart leaps as he instantly recognizes Louis’ bold handwriting.

"What is it?" Niall whispers, half-scared, half-elated as he takes the envelope; knowing Louis, it could be pretty much anything.

“Open and find out!” Harry replies, positively bouncing on his feet and if Harry looks so happy, then Niall can only assume that it’s good news; God, he hopes so. He tears into the envelope and extracts a square white card. 

It’s an invitation; to Louis’ birthday. 

Niall’s heart expands so fast that he fears it’ll blow up; his face splitting in a grin as he turns his wide eyes on Harry who just looks back at him, something close to a proud look in his eyes, “I knew you were smart,” Harry flickers Niall’s nose playfully, “and pretty,” Harry adds with a teasing smirk, smacking Niall’s bum rather hard.

“ _Harry_!” Niall bats Harry’s grabby hands off of him and fixes Harry with such a deathly glare that Harry shrinks back, laughing nervously.

“You’re back in!” Harry slings an arm around Niall’s shoulder, smiling dimply down at him, “Let’s get back to the party.”

“Wait, did he always have my name, or did he trade with someone after he heard my speech?" Niall asks curiously as Harry drags him back to the festivities. Harry shrugs carelessly, "who cares?" he replies with a roll of his eyes, "You're coming to the party and I admit, Louis throws _the_ best parties. It’s going to be absolutely insane.”

As they walk back into the cafeteria, Niall looks up, scanning the room for Louis, and finds him chatting with some of the Privilege House kids over near their table, and, Niall is beginning to believe that Louis has some kind of uncanny ability to locate him as the boy glances over in his direction. Niall holds the card up, can’t help the smile on his lips, which only stretches wider when Louis _finally_ gives him that mischievous smirk - God, Niall never thought he’d miss it - as he raises his champagne flute in Niall’s direction just for a second and gives Niall a nod, before turning back to his conversation.

Niall is smiling foolishly, his spirit soaring high - it’s ridiculous that Louis can flip his day around so fast - and he decides to find Zayn and see if he’s found his gift. But before he can, his phone beeps in his pocket. Niall’s heart skips an excited beat at the text;

_Stacy: Mrs. J is occupied. Let’s leave now  
_

+

Melissa James lives in a tiny apartment in the outskirt of a sketchy neighborhood. Stacy, Niall and Jordan are all sitting in Stacy’s on-campus car, with all the lights out and staring at the only lit window of the apartment. They’ve been doing that for the last hour, so, it’s safe to say their patience is wearing thin.

“For how much longer are we going to do this?” Niall nibbles at his lips anxiously; he isn’t sure why he’s whispering, it isn’t like the girl is going to hear them, but it seems appropriate nonetheless.

“It’s a Friday night, I’m sure she’s going out,” Stacy whispers back; she’s in all black, dark hair pulled into a high ponytail. “And turn off that phone before she spots us out of the window!” she snaps when Niall’s phone begins ringing again, and Niall glances at Zayn’s name flashing on the screen; the Prince has been calling non-stop since Niall left the dinner and Niall sent him a message, saying he’s fine but apparently it isn’t enough. Feeling guilty, Niall turns off the device.

They sit like that for another 15 minutes, all of them getting increasingly antsy, when the lights flicker off and for a second, Niall thinks she went to sleep, but then the front door opens. All three of them lean a little forward to get a better look. The girl has short-cut dark hair and is clad in tight jeans, a leather jacket that seems entirely inappropriate for the harsh weather and knee-high boots. She begins to walk down the pavement, toward where they’re parked and they quickly duck. They hold their breath and stay down for a maximum of two minutes before Jordan peeks out.

“Okay, she’s gone,” he says and they all get off the car. Throwing a look at the direction she went, Niall follows Stacy and Jordan inside the apartment complex. They tiptoe up the stairs until they reach the second floor, right in front of Melissa’s apartment.

“How do we even get in?” Niall asks, wondering why he hadn’t thought of that earlier when he grabs the knob but of course, it’s locked. “Move aside,” Stacy orders and Niall gets out of the way. He watches fascinated as she extracts a bobby pin from her hair and begins working on the lock.

“Is it working?” Jordan asks after a few minutes of tense silence and Stacy fiddling with the pin. 

“Patience,” she huffs and continues to pick the lock. Niall is absolutely sure what she’s doing belongs in movies and not in real life, but then, he hears the tell-tale sound of the lock turning.

“Voila!” Stacy exclaims and flings the door open. Niall and Jordan gape at her with wide, awed eyes, “How’d you just do that?” Niall asks, staring at Stacy and she just shrugs her shoulders with a smug smirk, “some of the tasks were to break into homes, remember?” she says and strides into the apartment as if it’s her own. Niall tentatively follows her and Jordan trails behind.

The apartment is tiny, but well-kept. Since it’s a studio apartment, the bedroom and living room are one in the same, and there’s a tiny kitchen with a pot of leftover stew as well as a small bathroom tucked nicely into the corner. At least they don’t have to search for too long- _if_ there’s anything to find that is.

They look at each other and without another word, they begin searching through the living room for any evidence that Melissa James murdered Josh Devine. Niall is searching through a stack of books and magazines while Jordan is searching through a box of useless stuff and Stacy is racking through Melissa’s clothes which she keeps in a suitcase under her bed.

After only a few minutes of searching, Niall can feel himself growing antsy and impatient; what if she comes back and finds them there? She could report them to the police and then ironically enough, they would be the ones facing a sentence.

“Guys, I think I found her diary,” Jordan says and holds up a small book with a lock on it, gaining the other two’s attention.

“Here,” Stacy takes it out of his hands and makes quick work of the lock. Niall and Jordan huddle around her as she begins to flip through the pages. The diary pages are neat, no doodles or anything, and there’s an entry for every day.

“Flip to the date Josh was murdered,” Niall says breathlessly as an anxious anticipation builds up in his chest, all at once, making his heart race.

Stacy does as she’s told, and Niall’s heart stops beating all together.

Several pages leading up to Josh’s murder date and after are all ripped out, “Guys,” Jordan whispers, “Does this… mean what I think it does?”

Niall swallows and Stacy nods with a grim expression, “It can’t be a coincidence,” Stacy says as she touches the ripped edges with her fingertips. She begins to slowly flip through the following pages until she reaches the last page. 

“Stop!” Niall exclaims and Stacy stops, looking up at him startled, “What?”

“Look, Josh’s name,” he says and points with a shaky finger. Both Jordan and Stacy find it. “Read it out loud,” Niall’s voice quivers, his heart pounding hard in his chest. 

Stacy begins to read;

 _Today I saw police when I was downtown. It reminded me of that night. That night when he got what he deserved. Nobody would ever understand. Josh betrayed me. Left me for another. I had to show him that I am not one to be played. I still remember all the things he called me. It’s his fault. He kept pushing and pushing me. He made me do it. I loved him but he pushed me to the brink. I didn’t want to hurt him, but I had to do it._.

Niall gasps for air. Stacy has turned pale and Jordan’s eyes are wide in shock. Niall feels something grab his heart and twists it; tears springing up in his eyes. He wants to believe that the _‘someone’_ Josh left her for isn’t him, but he knows it is. _Who else could it be?_

“Oh my God,” Niall chokes out, stumbling a little on his feet as he turns his face away, covering his mouth with his hand. Stacy slams the book closed as she straightens up, “we have to go to the police with this,” she says with a grim expression, “She totally did it. She murdered Josh.”

+

Admittedly, detective Palmer doesn’t look happy when he spots Niall - obviously, he sees Niall as a nuisance - but once he, Stacy and Jordan show him the diary and explain with who they found it, he takes them seriously, though he looks a little wary.

He tells them to go home and he’ll take care of it.

+

Niall’s heart is heavy in his chest, even though things seems to be coming to an end, he can’t shake off the guilt burdening his shoulder and churning in his chest, “I really hope it’s over for real this time,” Niall says quietly, looking up at the sky dotted by a million of stars as he and Jordan walk across the deserted campus. Jordan doesn’t reply, he’s been uncharacteristically quiet since they got back to campus.

Niall looks at him and he’s staring off into the distance.

“Hellooo? Earth to Jordan?” Niall calls loudly as he waves a hand in front of his face. Jordan snaps back, a little startled and blinks at Niall with wide eyes as if he doesn’t recognize him.

“What?” Niall frowns, “are you alright?” he asks, eyeing Jordan concerned.

Jordan stops up as they reach his dorm and he’s quiet for a second before he smiles. “Yeah, I’m good. I’m sure it’s over now,” he says quietly and looks directly into Niall’s eyes; for a second there, there’s a sudden shadow in Jordan’s eyes, something like a promise in his voice but before Niall can read into it, Jordan beams his trademark wide grin at him. Niall smiles right back, nodding.

“Yeah, me too,” he says, stepping a little closer to Jordan, “and hey, thank you for being so nice the last few days. I couldn’t have gotten through it without you,” Niall smiles a little shyly, feeling that this ought to be said; that Jordan needs to know Niall appreciates him as a friend.

Jordan looks at him with a taken aback expression, then he’s laughing the next second - but Niall can’t hear the warmth in that laugh - “no problem!” Jordan grins and Niall gives him a quick hug.  
“Goodnight then,” Niall says quickly as he pulls away, “see you tomorrow,” he adds with a wave.

He turns and walks to Drake House, humming one of Harry’s latest singles under his breath; he looks up at the night sky and he sincerely hopes that now, his life can return to be remotely normal; he really hopes so.

Once he’s back in his room, he decides to call Zayn, but ends up getting a beeping noise before pulling the phone away with an annoyed groan, “Great,” he mutters when he gets no signal and remembers the non-existent signal of his room. He sighs, making his way towards the door once again; he has to go up on the roof to make the call.

He _really_ hopes Louis will invite him back into Privilege House soon.

+

It seems to be ten times colder up on the roof, and Niall pulls his coat closer around him as he takes out his phone, holding it up over his head. There’s a signal, but it’s weak.

He hits the call button and it only rings once before it’s taken and Zayn’s worried voice rings from the other end.

“ _Niall_ , where the fuck have you been!?”

Niall opens his mouth to reply but before a single word can fall from his mouth, the phone is suddenly ripped out of his hand. Startled, he spins around and is surprised to see Jordan standing there. Jordan hangs up the call and looks at Niall.

Something inside of Niall goes cold at the expression on Jordan’s face. His usual open face is completely closed off. His eyes are dark and unreadable. Niall automatically takes a step back.

“Jordan,” he says, “What are you doing?” he reaches for his phone, but he doesn’t expect for Jordan to shove him so hard that he hits the wall behind him with a thud. Niall tries to regain the breath knocked out of him and he blinks rapidly- his eyes frozen wide in disbelief as he watches Jordan flip open his own phone and dial a number.

Niall catches detective Palmer’s distant voice from the phone, and he watches in complete confusion as Jordan brings the phone to his mouth, “Help!” he shouts into the phone without taking his chilly eyes off of Niall, “I-it’s my friend Niall! He jumped off the roof of his dorm! I think he’s dead! Please hurry!” he exclaims in an Oscar worthy performance, yet Niall is still baffled as to why Jordan is accusing him of jumping off the roof in the first place- unless… 

And then suddenly his blood runs cold as all of the puzzle pieces begin falling into place.

Niall can hear detective Palmer firing off questions to keep Jordan on the line and he watches with an open mouth as his supposed _friend_ slowly hangs up. Cold terror slowly settles in Niall’s bones as Jordan pockets his phone and extracts a small dagger.

“Jordan, what the _fuck_ are you doing?” Niall chokes out through a dry throat as he tries to walk around him, but once again, Jordan grabs him and shoves him so hard that Niall’s clumsy feet slip and he falls to the cold ground.

“What am _I_ doing? Why don’t you take a guess,” he hisses and even Jordan’s voice has changed to something much darker as he crouches down in front of Niall and his heart all but stops when Jordan presses the blade against the delicate skin of his neck. _Almost enough to break it_. 

He stares terrified into Jordan’s smoldering eyes and it’s then that a paralyzing realization hits him like a train, wracking his whole reality.

It was Jordan all along. _Jordan_ killed Josh. And now, _apparently_ , he is going to kill Niall.

“It was you,” Niall whispers, voice shaking uncontrollably, “Y-you killed him.”

A grim smile distorts Jordan’s dark features, “No, Niall,” he says with a dark laugh, “ _you_ killed Josh. I have your confession in my pocket- your suicide letter,” he says with a malicious grin.

“ _What_!?” Niall gasps mortified and he doesn’t even dare make a move, one wrong move and the blade will slice his throat open. A lump the size of a lacrosse ball is sitting in his throat, he can barely breathe. It doesn’t make sense. Nothing makes sense anymore; everything that Niall thought he knew, apparently, was a lie.

“B-but how, why, and what about Melissa?” Niall feels a little dizzy with all the unanswered questions crashing down on him at once.

Jordan lets out a short, cold laugh that makes a chill bolt down Niall’s body.

“ _I_ ripped those pages out,” he says with a disgustingly _proud_ smile, “ _I_ wrote that last passage. _I_ forged her handwriting. I didn’t have much time to practice but you were so desperate to find the killer that you bought it raw. And I forged your letter which I by the way had _plenty_ of time to practice. According to your letter, little country Niall apparently couldn’t take the life in Prescott. You lost it after your boyfriend deceived you and you killed him. And you lost it again because of guilt. But this time, you only kill yourself.”

“You’re never going to get anyone to believe that!” Niall splutters as he realizes that Jordan is dead serious, “I was in New York at the time. No one is going to believe that!”

“You could have gotten plenty of opportunity to come back here and do it,” Jordan sneers maliciously, “And they’ll have your confession. They’ll believe it, alright,” Jordan says with a condescending laugh.

He’s insane. _Complete and utterly out of his mind_. And he’s going to kill Niall.

Niall whimpers when Jordan clamps a hand around his arm roughly and forces him onto his feet. Niall shoots a fleeting glance over his shoulder, discovering that Jordan is pushing him towards a part of the wall that has crumbled; low enough to push someone off the edge.

 _Oh God._

An all-consuming terror consumes Niall’s whole being once he fully comprehends what is happening; sweet, friendly Jordan with the odd patterns of freckles and the bubbly smile - _his first friend at Prescott_ \- is going to push him to his death- he’s going to _murder_ him.

He’s going to die.  
.  
.  
.

_He’s going to die._

“No!” Niall cries and grabs for Jordan in a desperate attempt to jerk away from him, but Jordan drives the handle of the knife into his jaw. Niall’s vision swims with stars as he stumbles on his feet.

“Let’s not make this uglier than it has to be,” Jordan’s annoyed voice rings over the blood rushing in Niall’s ears. Niall grimaces as the coppery taste of blood fills his mouth.

His blood.

Josh’s blood.

Jordan had done it. 

He’d taken that bat and murdered Josh. _Sweet_ Jordan had killed Josh. Niall’s world crumbles around him, his knees buckle uselessly before he simply drops to the ground with a strangled sob.

“Why?! _Why_ did you do it?” He cries, tears distorting his visions as they pour down his cheeks, “Why did you kill him! Why, Jordan! Why!” Niall screams, growing a bit hysterical as his vision blurs even more.

“Oh, stop being such a drama queen,” Jordan snarls as he tries to pull him up, but Niall uses his weight to nail himself to the ground, “Get up!” Jordan shouts frustrated.

“Tell me why you did it! You’re going to kill me anyway, right? It’s the least you can do!” Niall shouts back, frantically trying to fight Jordan off of him.

“Shut the fuck up!” Jordan roars and strains to pull him up; he succeeds in pulling him so far back that the back of Niall’s head hits the short wall and he groans at the pain exploding in his brain.

“No! Say it! Just fucking give me the reason why you killed him!” Niall is in hysterics now as he flails against Jordan’s hold, “Why did he have to die? Why did you take him away from me!?” Niall exclaims, his voice falling into a whisper.

Jordan’s eyes flash dangerously.

“Why _I_ took him away from _you_?” he says vehemently and with a sudden burst of adrenaline, Jordan hauls Niall up on his feet, and Niall has a strong feeling he has made a terrible mistake; _fuck_.

“I didn’t take him from you! You took him from _me_!” Jordan screams into his face.

Then follows a beat of total silence, in which Jordan’s heavy breath hits Niall’s face in hot puffs while Niall stands still, eyes wide and shocked.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Niall whispers without meaning to, “You never gave him a second glance!”

“He loved _me_!” Jordan exclaims, desperation bleeding into his voice and reflecting in his big eyes, “We spent _all_ summer together! He promised me that once we went back to school, he’d be with _me_! For _real_! No sneaking around his slutty girlfriends; he said that he wouldn’t care what others thought! He promised me that! He promised me we would be together but then _you_ came! You came and _stole_ him from me!”

Jordan pushes him towards the wall again. The terror is paralyzing. Niall glances behind him and catches sight of his first dorm. The dorm he’d shared with the boy trying to currently kill him. Their first day meeting each other flashes through Niall’s mind. How bright and full of energy Jordan had been. How did they end up like _this_?

“So it was you all along, the email, the cologne, the bracelet and the pictures,” Niall says, still unable to believe that this is actually happening, “and the _videos_. It was all you! How did you even get into the Legacy!?” Niall can’t believe that he’d been going crazy trying to figure out who killed Josh when the murderer had been right in front of him the entire time; he can’t believe that he’d beenalone with Jordan countless times, smiled with him, laughed with him, sought comfort in him without having a single clue. Jordan could’ve finished him off so many times and just as Niall wonders why he hadn’t done it long ago, he realizes Jordan had been waiting for the right time, the rightplace. Very well-planned and very psychotic.

Niall suddenly feels like throwing up.

“Yes, it was all me and you deserved every little bit,” Jordan sneers and his eyes are narrowed in accusation, “You didn’t only steal Josh, you left me behind just like him… just like Josh!” he exclaims, his voice wavering a bit and it’s completely _absurd_ but Jordan actually manages to make Niall’s heart pang with guilt.

Just then, the door to the roof opens soundlessly. Niall feels breathless when he sees who it is.

_Louis._

Their eyes meet and for a second, Niall is about to shout for help, but Louis shakes his head. He comes out on the roof, and Niall sees he has a lacrosse stick in his hand.

“I thought that once you got into Privilege House, then I would have a friend on the inside, but you ditched me,” Jordan says bitterly, “You didn’t deserve Josh, you didn’t even love him the way I did,” Jordan’s face contorts in a grim expression, “it didn’t take you long to move on and fuck his best friends - you’re fucking _disgusting_ ,” Jordan’s malicious tone cuts through Niall and Niall pulls his lips into a thin line. “I was wrong. I should have killed you. I should have killed you instead of Josh. Then we would be together. Josh and I… just like he promised. Just like it was _supposed_ to be.”

Niall throws a quick glance over Jordan’s shoulder. Louis is tiptoeing towards them, doing his best not to make a sound. Out of the corner of his eye, Niall sees the glow of the police cars lights. Jordan forces him backwards. He once again brings the blade to his throat. Niall can’t hear anything but his roaring heartbeat. The ground is far, far underneath them. He needs just two seconds more. If he can just distract him for two seconds.

“He said he loved you,” Niall blurts, and Jordan stops up abruptly, “Josh told me he loved you, Jordan.”

It’s blood-curling how Jordan’s face at once transforms back to normal; eyes turning soft and gentle and for a second there, Niall sees the boy he’d come to know as his friend.

“Really?” Jordan whispers, eyes wide with innocence, voice hopeful and eerily sweet.

Just then, Louis brings down the lacrosse stick, hard on his back. Jordan collapses to his knees with a cry and the knife clatters to the ground.

Niall grabs it instinctively and swiftly moves away from the edge of the roof, ducking behind Louis. Jordan rolls around on his back and blinks, and it’s fucking unbelievable; how confused and innocent he looks right then. But then he sees Louis and a black veil descends over his face.

“ _You_ ,” he spits poisonously, “Of fucking course!”

Jordan pushes himself to his feet and Louis snaps the knife out of Niall’s hand, holding it before him with cold, narrowed eyes.

“I knew it,” Louis says with a sneer and Jordan’s eyes shoot him daggers.

“You don’t know shit! You think you know everything, but reality check, Tomlinson! You _don’t_!” Jordan shouts, eyes crazy and Niall instinctively takes a step back. Louis on the contrary, takes a step forward.

“Oh, yeah?” Louis says with a mocking smirk, “Don’t you think I’ve been keeping an eye on you the last couple of weeks?” he asks, voice firm and haunting.

Jordan’s mouth clamps together tightly, jaw clenching as Louis continues, “I had my suspicions about you, but you’re very good at blending in - like a little psychotic chameleon,” Louis clicks his tongue. “I knew I just had to wait for the right moment; I _knew_ it was you that sent those videos and I knew _exactly_ how you wanted for me to react.”

Jordan’s eyes are wide in shock, same as Niall as he stares at the back of Louis’ head; he doesn’t know what to believe anymore.

“So I acted the way you wanted me to,” Louis is smiling smugly now; Niall feels like screaming at the absurdity of the situation, “Even though I was teaching Niall a lesson, doesn’t mean I wasn’t looking out for him; I’ve been watching over him the _whole_ time…so, I _do_ know _everything_ ,” Louis puts extra emphasis on the words and the playful smile slips away as his eyes harden, “You killed my friend and got away with it,” he says, voice eerily quiet, eyes flashing with emotions, “But you must not know me well enough since you’ve got the nerve to try again,” Jordan looks murderous; jaw clenched tight, dark eyes flickering to the knife in Louis’ hand. 

Louis takes another daunting step toward Jordan, “Now, I already know what happened, but I want to hear it from you. So, talk,” Louis orders.

Jordan scoffs and crosses his arms, “Or what? You’re going to kill me?” He mocks, and in one swift movement, Louis is clutching the front of his shirt, pressing the blade against his Adam apple. Niall gasps.

“You don’t think I’ll do it?” Louis asks, his features darker than Niall has ever seen them before, “We already know what you’re capable of, shall we find out what _I_ am capable of?”

A flash of fear crosses Jordan’s face, before it closes off again, “Why don’t you tell me since you claim to know everything?” Jordan asks, voice taunting, but gasps when the blade presses closer to his throat. 

“Louis!” Niall exclaims, voice trembling, heart thrashing.

“Talk,” Louis orders, voice eerily calm.

“Fine!” Jordan exclaims and Louis draws the knife a little back, but doesn’t remove it entirely, “All I wanted was to talk to him, okay!? I asked him what happened to his promise. He said he didn’t _love_ me and I couldn’t believe it. He was lying. He must’ve been lying,” Jordan’s eyes suddenly swim over with tears and Niall’s heart clinches tightly as the boy continues, ”A-and then he began saying all kinds of terrible things- saying I would never be _good enough_ for him and he _pushed_ and pushed!” Jordan’s voice raises, ringing with unadulterated pain that goes straight to Niall’s bones, “He said he didn’t want to be with me anymore! And I couldn’t have that! I _couldn’t_!”

“And then you killed him,” Louis says dryly, his voice undeterred by Jordan’s emotional rant, remaining smooth and calm; it actually scares Niall.

“ _Yes_!” Jordan cries, “I killed him! I killed Josh, okay!” the tears spill over, streaking down his pale cheeks, eyes wide and nearly desperate, “It’s not my fault! It’s all _his_ fault!!” Jordan looks directly at Niall with such a hateful glare that Niall stumbles a few steps back in shock, “He was supposed to be my friend! But he _betrayed_ me! Just like he betrayed _you_! So why are you saving him, Louis!? _Why_!?”

“Because he’s my friend,” Louis replies simply, ”He made a mistake, which doesn’t mean that I won’t have his back by the end of the day.” Then a dark smirk spread across Louis’ face, and Niall wants to scream, because _what_ does he find funny in this situation.

“I am sure the police would like to hear that just now,” Louis says and pulls out his phone. “I recorded every word you just said.”

All color leaves Jordan’s face as he stares at the phone Louis is holding up. “I hope you end your days behind closed bars in misery, you psychotic little shit.”

Niall sees something snap in Jordan’s eyes, and then with a chilly scream, he lunges for Louis. Niall screams so loud, he is sure, his eardrums will explode. Louis’ phone clatters to the ground and then there’s a sound like someone’s biting into an apple; just much louder.

Niall feels like he isn’t really there, like he’s watching through someone else’s eyes, like it isn’t his heart that’s beating out of control, like it isn’t his lungs that are refusing to accept air. He sees Jordan’s eyes go impossibly wide. He sees Louis take a step back. He sees Jordan slowly look down and he sees the knife disappearing into Jordan’s chest. He sees Jordan stare as if fascinated by the blood blossoming around the handle of the knife, tainting his shirt. He sees how Jordan looks at Louis with unseeing eyes before he stumbles, and then it’s like Niall is snapped back into his own body.

“Oh my God! _NO_!” Niall screams, his first instinct is to lunge forward, he needs to grab Jordan before he falls over the edge, he _needs_ to. Niall’s fingertips almost touch Jordan’s falling body, but then a pair of strong, unrelenting arms wrap around his middle and he’s jerked back.

“Louis! Let go! _Let go_! _Let go_!” Niall screams hysterically, thrashing as he tries to get out of Louis’ iron grip.

But it’s too late.

Niall meets Jordan’s fading, wide eyes for the last time, before his body disappears, falling over the edge. 

There follows a moment where the whole world screeches to a halt, there are no movements, no sounds, _nothing_ ; just a completely dooming silence.

Then Niall’s world shatters around him, burning up in ashes, going up in smoke. Niall crumbles as his body gives up under him, he’d fall to the ground if Louis wasn’t holding him up, arms still pressed tightly around him. An agonized cry catches in Niall’s throat, blocking his breath and he feels lightheaded. He can hear the sound of police sirens louder now; the noise is piercing the air.

“It’s my fault, it’s my fault, it’s my entire fault! They’re dead because of me!” he rants hysterically, completely losing it as he trembles like a leaf.

“It’s _not_! Niall,look at me,” Louis cups Niall’s face, forcing Niall to look at him, “It isn’t your fault, okay?” he says in a softer voice, soothingly running a hand through his hair, patting his back. “I promise, it’s going to be alright, everything is going to be alright now.”

Niall knows better than to believe him. He knows that no matter what happens, he’ll always live with this all-destroying guilt; he’ll doubtlessly breathe his last breath believing he is responsible for both Josh and Jordan’s deaths.

+

It is a beautiful day with a sky so clear and blue, it looks artificial. It’s warm for a December day. Niall is standing in the parking lot behind the girls’ dormitory waiting for his father’s car to arrive. From where he stands, he can see most of the campus and he lets his eyes float across it, lingering at his first dorm where he made his first friend, or what he at the time, thought would be his first friend - his chest clenches tight as Jordan’s fading gaze flashes through his mind - and then it stops on Privilege House where he found a group of slightly insane friends; but friends nonetheless.

And maybe someone he cares about a lot.

He looks at Prescott Academy with different eyes than when he arrived on his first day. It had oozed perfection, tradition and success that day and Niall had felt privileged just by mingling with these rich and elite kids. He’d been so sure that this place would pave his way to Princeton and further success in life. Now, all he sees is dull, grey brick buildings and all the dark secrets it holds. _All_ of the tragedy, scandals, tears, bloodshed, lies, and _all_ the _heartbreak_.

A sad smile tugs at Niall’s lips. He can’t believe his views on this place have changed this much in such a short span of time.

“Niall!” A voice calls from behind him.

Niall’s heart stops. No. He can’t be here. Not now. Not ever.

Niall turns around to face Zayn who is bent over, trying to catch his breath, “Niall,” Zayn whispers breathlessly, straightening up and glancing warily down at the bags sitting at Niall’s feet. 

“What’s going on? Why aren’t you in class? Where are you going?” Zayn’s voice is growing thick with emotion as he stares at Niall confused.

“I… I’m going home, Zayn,” Niall whispers trough a dry throat.

Zayn steps forward and he looks so good up close, with his windblown hair and red cheeks and golden eyes.

“I understand, you need an early break. Which is totally understandable in your situation,” Zayn rambles even though they both know it isn’t going to be just a break, “But, we’re still spending some of the break at my parents’ home, right? It’s going to be great, I promise-“

“Zayn,” Niall cuts him off, heart trembling in his chest and he pushes himself to continue, “I’m not coming back.”

Zayn’s face drains off all color, “What?” he whispers, sounding completely shocked.

Niall feels the familiar burn of tears in his eyes, and immediately feels frustrated at his inability to remain strong at a time like this, “I’m so sorry,” he says softly, looking away from Zayn’s gaze, “But it’s too much for me to handle. I can’t do this anymore.” 

Niall hears the rumbling of an engine and as he looks up, he sees his father’s car approaching. Niall has never felt happier to see that old, dented Subaru.

“Niall, don’t leave, _please_ ,” Zayn begs, voice desperate as he takes Niall’s hands between his cold ones, squeezing tightly, forcing Niall to meet his eyes, “I swear I’ll be better at protecting you. I won’t let anything happen to you. I won’t let anything hurt you ever again,” Zayn’s voice hitches with his next words, “ _Please_ , don’t leave me.”

Niall’s heart possibly breaks at doing this, but he’s made his decision; nothing in the world can change his mind.

“Zayn,” Niall mutters as he gently tugs his hand out of Zayn’s grip, “Please don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

Zayn looks completely lost as he stares at him with wide, sad eyes.

“But what about me?” he asks in _such_ a small voice, so unlike him that Niall has to fight down the urge to hug him tight, “What about… what about _us_?” the crack in Zayn’s voice is a blow to Niall’s heart.

Niall’s father rolls up to the curb, but his father doesn’t step out, giving him his privacy; his sweet, wonderful father. Niall just wants to sink into his familiar, warm embrace and smell the motor oil and mint on him that has helped Niall through so many hard times.

“Zayn, I am so sorry, I have to go,” Niall says quietly, he feels like someone is gnawing his insides, gnawing at his organs, gnawing at his heart and it _hurts_ like never before. The complete devastated look in Zayn’s eyes almost destroys him. Zayn steps forward and takes him in his arms.

“But Niall, I lov-“

Niall cuts him off by pressing their lips together, and it’s soft and sweet and bitter all at once. A tear escapes Niall’s closed lids, slipping between their lips and Zayn’s breath stutters as he tastes the salty wetness, “Niall-“

“Don’t’ say it,” Niall interrupts, because he can’t hear it without breaking. The last guy that told him that was killed because of it. His heart tears in his chest as he forcefully pulls out of Zayn’s arms.

Just then, his father steps out of the car.

“Is everything alright, Bud?” he asks concerned and shoots Zayn a suspicious glance as if ready to beat the Prince up at Niall’s request. 

“Everything’s fine, Dad,” Niall says weakly, feeling Zayn tense as his body goes rigid next to him, “I’ll be right there.”

His father nods and begins to load his bags into the trunk. Niall turns around to Zayn again, “I’m sorry, Zayn,” he repeats and he begins to back away when Zayn reaches for him again, causing Zayn to grab for nothing; the tears fill Niall’s eyes, “Goodbye.”

He quickly turns around and gets into his father’s car without looking back. As the car pulls out of the parking lot and starts down the driveway, Niall can’t stop himself from shooting a last look over his shoulder. He wishes he hadn’t.

Zayn is standing there and staring after him, tears in his eyes and he looks _so small_ as Prescott Academy looms over him, dark and imposing. Niall raises his hand and presses it against the window. Zayn doesn’t wave back. Just stares at him, looking utterly and completely crushed.

It shatters Niall’s heart, but he forces himself to tear his eyes away and face the road ahead and as the car pulls out of Prescott’s gates, he tells himself that his time in Prescott is over.

This part of his life has finally come to an end and he can start over again, somewhere else.

_Far away from here._


End file.
